Josh Bell will not soon forget the feeling he had when he looked at his phone and learned that George Floyd had been killed by Minneapolis police on May 25.
"It's like, 'Again?' " Bell said. "It's a scenario where, as a nation, it felt like we went through the Amy Cooper incident and then the Ahmaud Arbery incident before that. Within a week and a half or two weeks, it was three glaringly disgusting things going on, where it just felt like injustice was continuing to thrive."
In "four or five years," and hopefully much sooner, Bell hopes that sort of injustice stops, which is one of the reasons he appeared this past Friday on MLB Network Radio alongside several major leaguers as part of a group discussion called "Baseball and Black America."
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick was joined by Bell, Lorenzo Cain, Mychal Givens, Taylor Hearn, Dwight Smith Jr. and Delino DeShields Jr., as the group spoke for roughly 50 minutes on racial inequality and what they can do as baseball players to eradicate social injustice.
Bell was especially eloquent, conveying his thoughts and emotions and describing the seriousness of the situation while also advocating for change.
"I'm just hoping this time next year, or this time four or five years from now, things will have changed so that things like this don't happen," Bell said. "They can't be swept under the rug. It's time for that change, so I'm hoping that it comes now."
Bell also spoke on Colin Kaepernick and his push to spread awareness for social injustice, specifically how that movement was misconstrued as disrespect to the flag, costing the quarterback his job and millions of dollars.
The Pirates first baseman called the Kaepernick situation "scary" because of how easily a rightful and reasonable cause can be misinterpreted.
"It's scary to me as a black athlete," Bell said. "If I put myself in his shoes, there's not one interview that I can have to rectify a narrative that's created. That's disheartening to see something like that happen, but right now we have an opportunity where it seems like everybody is on the same page about this.
"If you didn't feel for George Floyd crying out for his life when he was on that concrete with his hands handcuffed behind his back, crying out, gasping for air, I don't know. You have different problems. But 99% of people watch that video, and they're like, 'Something's wrong here.'
"I think now is an awesome opportunity for all athletes, whether you're black, white, whatever, to come together and start voicing these injustices just because now's the time. Everyone feels the same way. I don't think it would be as easily shot down."
Bell also talked about his own upbringing. How his mother (Myrna) is a professor and his family valued education while also pointing out the fact that far too many others are less fortunate. Such opportunities do not abound everywhere, Bell reminded.
"People don't understand why the inner-city is the inner-city," Bell said. "People don't understand that banks withheld loans from black communities for decades. There's a reason why the world is the way it is right now, and it feels like it was kind of orchestrated that way.
"It's not an even playing field for everybody that's growing up in the United States. If you're in a certain neighborhood, if you look a certain way, you're less likely to get killed by a cop and more likely to go to college and make a life for yourself. It's tough.
"I think it's important for us all to try and educate ourselves and those around us. But a lot of people just don't understand. It's not something that was taught to me in high school. It's something that my mom taught me. But as more people realize what's going on, as more people look around and start asking questions about why things are the way they are, I think that's when real change can happen."
The final question posed to Bell also generated a terrific, smart response. Kendrick closed by asking each panelist what he would like to see change as a result of this, and Bell listed a couple things.
Coming together as one was the overarching theme. But Bell also advocated for more body cameras for police officers _ and significant punishments if they're not used.
Bell also said he would like body camera footage to be made more readily available to citizens.
"For me, what I want to see, first and foremost, is a change in public policy," Bell said. "It's got to be illegal for cops to make arrests without a body camera on. If something goes down and your body camera wasn't on, make it so it's like six months, no pay, and you can't go work in the next county over. You know what I'm saying? Make it so that it hurts so bad that stuff like this doesn't happen. Because we read the report. What those guys were going to say was that dude died in a hospital, and they were going to be protecting and serving again on the streets the next day, maybe later on that night. For me, change the policies so that body cameras are necessary.
"I also want to see a world where this footage is more easily available for the community. It shouldn't be a fight to see stuff like this. I feel like a lot more instances have been swept under the rug, and nobody ever hears about it. That shouldn't be the case. People should vote people into office who want to change these things. I want to see a change to the system as a whole. I want to see people care about the system and care about an equal playing field for all people, of all backgrounds, of all races, of all religious beliefs.
"If we can create that kind of atmosphere, I would feel so much more comfortable bringing kids into this world and so much happier about the kids they're going to have, the life they're going to live. People 100 years ago were terrified about the world they were bringing their kids into, and it shouldn't be the same way 100 years later. Let's make sure that, 100 years from now, that's just not the case, man. It can't be the case."
