Day 27: A Man, a Plan & a Bridge to Recovery
Christian Cooper, the Black birdwatcher who was falsely accused of assault in New York the same day George Floyd was killed, remains resolute in focusing on the bigger picture even today as the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office dropped the misdemeanor criminal charges against the White woman who called the police on him.
“I am far more outraged by the U.S. Congress, which continues to deny the mostly Black and Brown people of the District of Columbia statehood and the representation every American deserves, than by anything Amy Cooper [no relation] did,” he said via statement to CNN. “That gross racial injustice could be fixed by Congress now, today, and that's what people should be focused on — not last year's events in Central Park.”
The sentiment echoed his words in the months following the incident, after he declined to press charges even amid worldwide protests for a racial reckoning that ends the weaponization of society against people of color. “I think it’s a mistake to focus on this one individual,” Christian said. “The important thing the incident highlights is the long-standing, deep-seated racial bias against us Black and Brown folk that permeates the United States.”
Elsewhere — in Milwaukee at his first town hall since his inauguration — President Biden insisted that the U.S. is ready to heal. “The nation is not divided,” he said, “You go out there and take a look and talk to people, you have fringes on both ends. But it's not nearly as divided as we make it out to be and we have to bring it together.”
The pandemic is one issue around which most Americans have united recently, Biden assured, referencing polls, and while he didn’t guess when we’d be back to “normal,” he did say that it may start to feel that way by next Christmas and that by the start of the next school year in September we’d be “significantly better off than where we are today.
“But it matters,” he said. “It matters whether you continue to wear that mask. It matters whether you continue to socially distance. It matters whether you wash your hands with hot water. Those things matter. They matter.”
The pandemic, and the intersection of racism and the pandemic was the focus of the evening, along with quick insights into his immigration and foreign policy recommendations and an emphasis on the 7 million jobs his $1.9 trillion relief package would create immediately.
Noticeably, Biden didn’t mention D.C.’s voting rights at the town hall, held the day after President’s Day this year, however, District Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a few days prior that the new bridge named in honor of Frederick Douglass is expected to open in October.
“Each February, we celebrate and remember Frederick Douglass for his tireless struggle to advance equality and justice in our nation,” Bowser said via statement from her office. “We are proud to be honoring a great Washingtonian with this iconic bridge, which will further connect our city and create more opportunities for D.C. residents.”
Washingtonians have also submitted the famed abolitionist’s name as part of the DC statehood bill, putting forth an effort to call the nonfederal territory, “Douglass Commonwealth.”