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How the injustice of one black man's life led to a movement for racial equality of an entire nation.

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White Minneapolis police officer kneels on African-American, George Floyd's neck for nine minutes after getting a call around 20:08 on 25 May 2020 for "passing counter-fit currency."  Bystanders who recorded the incident say Mr. Floyd yelled "I can't breathe" about 20 times, but the police didn't let up. His last words were those of him pleading for his mother before he passed out and passed away.

Photo Credit: Frazier, Darnella. Storyful. May 2020, https://i0.wp.com/amsterdamnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screen_Shot_2020-05-29_at_1.56.42_PM.png?w=1938&ssl=1.

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On May 26, 2020, protests in Minneapolis got underway. An estimated 500,000 people participated in protests in 550 different nations. Through the weekend of June 19, protests persisted, overlapping with Juneteenth celebrations. June saw a resurgence of protests throughout several cities, with over 40% of American counties experiencing them.

Photo Credit: Dyck, Darryl. CNN, 1 June 2020, https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/200601105625-05-floyd-intl-protest-0531-vancouver.jpg?q=x_3,y_191,h_1684,w_2993,c_crop/h_720,w_1280/f_webp.

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The majority of the George Floyd demonstrations were peaceful; it is estimated that about 93% of them were nonviolent, with no one getting hurt or any property being damaged. However, police made arrests in about 5% of protests, 2.5% of which involved the use of chemical irritants; 3.7% of protests involved property damage or vandalism; and 1.6% of protests involved protesters or bystanders being hurt or killed.

Photo Credit: Felix, Mark. The New Yorker, 1 June 2020, https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5ed58a433b1f2c5c1faa9511/master/w_2560%2Cc_limit/Washington-HoustonGeorgeFloydProtest.jpg.

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The more violent demonstrations were mainly restricted to certain US neighbourhoods. For instance, Philadelphia. There, more than 300 fires were burning just a week after George Floyd was killed. Over two hundred commercial burglaries and more than 150 vandalism incidents were reported in the days prior. The National Guard was on its way, and 400 people had been detained. Tens of thousands of people had gathered downtown by that Saturday, June 6th, chanting "Black Lives Matter" and calling for justice. The city was under curfew and smothered with tear gas for eight nights in a row.

Photo Credit: Lee, Emma. WHYY, 30 May 2020, https://i0.wp.com/billypenn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/floydprotest-policecarsfire.jpg?ssl=1.

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The protesters demanded not only Floyd's justice, but also a broad range of reforms, such as the defunding of the police and the redistribution of funds for law enforcement to mental health, social welfare, and other services. Unfortunately, only an extremely small number of localities have accepted the radical changes they demanded.

Photo Credit: Roberts, Joshua. ABCNews, 9 June 2020, https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/defund-sign-3-rt-ps-200608_hpMain_2_16x9_992.jpg.

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There was lots of fight to introduce the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act. This is a federal law that seeks to improve US police forces by outlawing dubious procedures like no-knock warrants and streamlining the legal process for officers who are accused of using excessive force. The proposed legislation would outlaw the use of chokeholds by federal law enforcement personnel and mandate that state and local police agencies that receive federal funds follow suit. Most importantly, to hold police accountable, it would be a requirement that federal uniformed police officers wear body cameras and that marked federal police vehicles have dashboard cameras. Unfortunately, however, this act was not passed.

Photo Credit: Wong, Alex. Vox, 25 June 2020, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/R6991GHyBDSJCfuQqNSSJYxTNmo=/0x0:6183x4122/1820x1213/filters:focal(2199x1260:3187x2248):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66984451/1252407301.jpg.0.jpg

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A more minor change that was made after the protests was a change in some of the language used around the topic of black lives and racism. The phrase "systemic racism" and the reality it describes were toxic to many Americans prior to the murder of George Floyd. However, after George Floyd was killed, it became impossible to refute what had previously been an abstract argument supported by figures and percentages presented by a group of academics and campaigners. The "systemic racism" notion and the term itself became widely accepted very immediately after the dam of opposition broke. The idea was welcomed by everyone, including NPR and Wall Street, who used it in their reporting and advertising.

Photo Credit: WSFA-TV. Facebook, 20 April 2021, https://scontent.fyzd1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/174840270_10159394286464456_4805095070834223864_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=9267fe&_nc_ohc=T2tlhOvTg4MAX94EKoq&_nc_ht=scontent.fyzd1-2.fna&oh=00_AfCVCBtb_pCSK9gLbaA9RQGOrC4ECvA3GHGHRb2S1ODHkQ&oe=648DF7F5.

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Also, numerous monuments that stood not as somber reminders of slavery and segregation's heritage but as propaganda icons meant to convey a particular message to Black Americans were demolished.

Photo Credit: Tapp, Tom. New York Post, 24 June 2020, https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/06/confederate_statue_ken_burns.jpg?resize=1536,1024&quality=75&strip=all.

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Now, in 2023, three years after this fatal incident of police brutality, it's sad to say that very little change has been made in the systems. However, George Floyd will be remembered dearly by millions both in and outside of the United States, and will be honoured as the one who sparked a fight for racial equality that will continue for years.

Photo Credit: Gillespie, Tom. SkyNews, 9 July, 2020, https://e3.365dm.com/20/05/2048x1152/skynews-george-floyd-killed-by-police_5001291.jpg?20200616043751.