Trevor Noah: ‘Police In America Are Looting Black Bodies’

Trevor Noah on Friday argued that “police in America are looting Black bodies” during an impassioned, lengthy monologue on the death of George Floyd and the nationwide protests that have erupted in response.

In an 18-minute commentary released online, “The Daily Show” host asked “what vested interest” the demonstrators had in maintaining the idea that “society is a contract” when those in power were not upholding their end of the deal.

“Try to imagine how it must feel for Black Americans when they watch themselves being looted every single day,” said Noah. “Because that’s fundamentally what’s happening in America. Police in America are looting Black bodies. And I know someone might think that’s an extreme phrase, but it’s not.”

Noah highlighted what he believed “a lot of people don’t realize,” which was the death of Floyd in Minneapolis on Monday, after a white police officer knelt on the unarmed Black man’s neck, only “became so big” because he had died.

“How many George Floyds are there that don’t die? How many men are having knees put on their necks? How many Sandra Blands are out there being tossed around?” asked Noah. “It doesn’t make the news because it’s not grim enough. It doesn’t even get us anymore. It’s only the deaths, the gruesome deaths, that stick out.”

“But imagine to yourself if you grew up in a community where every day someone had their knee on your neck?” he added. “If every day someone was out there oppressing you, every single day, you tell me what that does to you as a society, as a community, as a group of people and when you know it’s happening because of the color of your skin.”

Check out Noah’s full monologue: