Medcalf: Thank you, Minnesota readers who reached out, for your support

When I wrote about possibly ending this column and allowing someone else to write it, my 42nd birthday was approaching.

Each year I feel more grateful to be alive and to be surrounded by all of these loving folks in my world. I have more blessings than burdens. But that’s not the reality for everyone.

The online negative reactions to my May column on Gianna Floyd, George Floyd’s 11-year-old daughter who has received love and hate since her father’s murder, made me feel like none of this was worth my peace — or hers. I had tried to shine a light on the plight of an innocent child and felt like I’d perhaps subjected her to even more vitriol by writing that column.

Nearly five years after I had returned to the Strib in a part-time role to write this column, feeling discouraged, I was ready to move on.

And then, a note came from a friend.

“Just read your piece,” the note said. “If you need to bow out for your own self preservation … do that, never look back. If you have it in you to stay, there are more of us that want to read than don’t. I know there are. I love you.”

That note from my homie Jana Shortal, the KARE-11 reporter and host of “Breaking the News,” was not uncommon. Shortal has always offered encouraging words throughout my time in this space. And the note reminded me that this column is not just an opportunity to leave my little mark on the world, but it’s also my connection to a broader community.

It wasn’t just Jana.

Readers from the Twin Cities and beyond reached out.

Julie wrote: “Don’t stop writing, sir. The world would be a sadder place indeed.”

Ambar told me: “I haven’t always agreed with your views but I have always enjoyed your writing. Hope you continue to enrich our community with your thoughts and words.”

From Rita: “Do not lose heart. Love will overshadow the haters — believe it — even in horrible times like these. We can’t give up. Do not lose hope. We cannot, for all the Gianna(s) among us.”

And Chuck, a former newspaper editor in Perham, offered encouragement through his own personal experiences as a weekly columnist.

“The way to neutralize those hate-mongers is to call them out,” he said. “You did so. Some of them will take pride in that. But maybe some will pause and ask themselves if that’s who I want to be.”

Five years ago, I put my three daughters in the car and we drove through Minneapolis after the protests of Floyd’s murder. A city filled with righteous frustration had demanded recompense for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s crime. I told them that the forthcoming stories would suggest that Black folks had burned the city down but that they should know those narratives were not accurate. I also told them to prepare for a short-lived response.

I knew then that some white people would say sorry to Black people through gestures, donations, declarations, new hires and diversity initiatives after Floyd’s murder. I warned that those shortsighted efforts would not last. For too many, it was all rooted in emotion instead of ethics. I felt then that any change would require real dialogue and real transformation — not only of policy but of morality. But you can’t force a person to search their soul. You can, however, use connection and conversation to encourage self-examination.

I don’t know if a group of young kids could grasp any of that in the car that day, but we could all connect with Gianna’s truth as we licked ice cream cones in a parking lot that afternoon. Those girls had me, their dad. And Gianna had lost the possibility of sharing those future moments with her own father.

After I thought about leaving this space behind, I had to remember that I started to write this column because I wanted to do my part to preserve the dialogue about Floyd’s murder. I also wanted to be able to tell Gianna — if I ever had the chance to meet her one day — that I’d done what I could to demand the acknowledgment of her father’s humanity. He mattered.

The support I received after I thought about quitting this column helped remind me of all of that.

The shadow of hatred is vast, but the push to find the light is the only path. I am not unique, I know, in my disappointment with those who lack empathy in a world that needs as much as we can provide. I realize that now.

And I’d like to continue to use this space as a platform for those who are not always heard. I don’t know if I’ll succeed in that pursuit. But the feedback I received helped me understand that maybe I need a boost sometimes, too. Because we all do in a world that feels heavy.

Plus, I live here. I am connected to this community. And I want to be better, not just for me, but for everyone else also.

So thank you all.

I love you, too.