Cape NAACP reacts to Floyd death, protests

Pat Thompson-McBride, Cape Girardeau’s NAACP president, knows what it means to lose a loved one to violence.

Thompson-McBride lost her 39-year old son Damion nearly three years ago when he was shot to death while he slept in Jefferson City, Missouri.

The news of the “knee-in-the-neck” Memorial Day death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police brought memories flooding back.

“It’s just horrible,” said Thompson-McBride, who became leader of the Cape Girardeau chapter of the civil-rights organization in 2019.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, purple or green,” Thompson-McBride said, “(these slayings) will continue to happen.”

Thompson-McBride told the Southeast Missourian on Friday morning she was gratified the four officers involved were terminated by the Minneapolis Police Department. But she said justice demanded more than a pink slip. She said she wanted to see an arrest.

Late Friday, the Hennepin County, Minnesota, prosecutor announced officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, was being charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd, who was black. If convicted, Chauvin may face a maximum 25-year prison sentence.

“People don’t seem to care about other people’s lives,” Thompson-McBride said.

“(Floyd) said he couldn’t breathe,” she said. “For me, it’s like murder.”

The death of Floyd, who was 46, has sparked protests, including looting, fires and other destructive activity in several U.S. cities last week and over the weekend.

“It doesn’t help to destroy a community,” Thompson-McBride said.

Thompson-McBride, 70, also serves as the Missouri membership chairwoman for the NAACP.

“I abhor violence,” she said, “(but) it seems unless we take a step, no one will listen.”

A suspect in the June 11, 2017, slaying of Damion Thompson is in custody and awaiting trial.

“(So) I know what it’s like to lose a child,” Thompson-McBride said.

The Cape Girardeau NAACP “reactivated” in 2015 and held its annual Freedom Fund dinner at the Drury Plaza Hotel on Oct. 19.

Due to COVID-19, Thompson-McBride said plans are “uncertain” for a 2020 dinner this fall.