美国国家公共电台 NPR--It's been 2 years since George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis

It's been 2 years since George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis

Transcript¹

On the second anniversary of George Floyd's death, Black people continue to be targets of hate. America's race issues are once again at the forefront after the mass shooting in Buffalo², N.Y.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today, May 25, marks two years since a police officer murdered George Floyd in Minneapolis. His death triggered a summer of protests demanding racial justice. Two years later, a man walked into a grocery store in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo and killed 10 people for explicitly³ racist⁴ reasons. People in Buffalo are trying to find a way to address a racial divide. NPR's Alana Wise has more.

ALANA WISE, BYLINE⁵: George Floyd's death marked a turning point in the country's already tenuous⁶ race relations. His killing⁷ at the hands of police sparked months of protests and led to calls to better address Black death at the hands of white assailants. After the Tops shooting this month, the people have renewed their calls for change.

TOLU ODUNSI: I believe the thread between the two tragedies is the dehumanization of Black people in this country.

WISE: Tolu Odunsi is a lecturer in law at the University at Buffalo. In the city, still reeling from the racist attack, residents have made clear that there is no time to wait in addressing Black lives lost to violence.

ODUNSI: To be able to kneel on someone's neck for such an amount of time that kills them, in your mind, you have had to dehumanize that person in the same way to travel and shoot innocent Black people at a supermarket. Again, you have to have that element of thinking, these people are less than human and deserve death.

WISE: For many people, particularly white Americans, Floyd's death was a wake-up call to the realities of systemic racism⁸. The Tops massacre⁹ was another cold reminder¹⁰.

JULIA WISINSKI: Probably around 2020, when the whole George Floyd thing happened, is when we really realized how bad racism still is in America.

WISE: That was 19-year-old Julia Wisinski (ph). At a vigil recently for the Tops shooting, she and her family dropped off flowers to honor the victims. Her sister, Sarah (ph), echoed Julia's comments about George Floyd's death being an eye-opening experience.

SARAH: I think that we need to learn that there needs to be reform with, you know, racism and gun laws, things that will prevent this from happening again.

WISE: Black Americans have long sounded the bell on the dangers of existing within a racist society. After the Tops shooting, those fears were redoubled. A recent poll conducted by The Washington Post found that 75% of Black people were worried they or someone they love might be attacked because of their race. But just 8% of respondents say they were surprised by the shooting. Geo Hernandez (ph) said that these tragedies continue because of government inaction.

GEO HERNANDEZ: I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. We all are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

WISE: After Floyd's death, Democratic lawmakers vowed¹¹ to address systemic racism. Protests sparked nationwide. And the George Floyd and Policing Act was introduced to Congress. But two years later, the bill has stalled. And officials say racist, violent extremists, like the one police say perpetrated the Tops shooting, remain one of the top domestic threats.

HERNANDEZ: This is embedded¹² racism in our policies, in our practices, in how this city is governed and how our people are continued to be hunted.

WISE: Tolu Odunsi, the law professor, says that in order for real change to be achieved, people in power have to address issues of racism head on.

ODUNSI: There may be those who do not believe in perpetuating¹³ violence against Black people. But when you don't see that the racism exists, you're not in a position to stop it.

WISE: Alana Wise, NPR News, Buffalo, N.Y.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

3 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

9 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

10 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

11 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

12 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

13 perpetuating   

perpetuate的现在进行式

参考例句：

• Revenge leads to a self-perpetuating cycle of violence. 怨怨相报会导致永不休止的暴力。
• It'set out to eradicate heresy, and ended by perpetuating it. 它的目的只是要根除异端邪说，结果却巩固了异端邪说。 来自英汉文学