'What we need to do is have a vision': Halifax social worker to Black men

A Halifax social worker says the image of George Floyd dying under the knee of a white police officer can have a lasting impact on Black men who've faced racism and violence in their own lives. 

As people in cities all across Canada and the U.S. march together to demand justice for Floyd and an end to anti-Black racism and police brutality, David Divine said there are also some people who may feel paralyzed.

"The difficulty that Black men sometimes face is that the whole picture that they see is so, so negative and so huge, so powerful that they are unable to even think of possible ways of addressing it," said Divine, the executive director of Footprints Life Coaching and former James R. Johnston chair in Black Canadian studies at Dalhousie University.

Divine told CBC's Information Morning on Monday that it's important for Black men to seek out support and create a positive and affirming vision for themselves. 

"What we have to do as Black men is have a vision, remind ourselves of the vision of our foremothers and forefathers," he said. "So we have to see ourselves, envision ourselves, not through the eyes of others but through our own eyes."

Divine joined host Portia Clark to continue their conversation about fighting anti-Black racism in the wake of Floyd's death.

Listen to their full interview below: