By Zhao Gu Gammage
On May 25th, George Floyd, an African-American man, was unjustly killed by police officer Derek Chauvin when he held Floyd down by pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck. Four days later, a CNN crew was arrested on live television by the National Guard for covering the Minneapolis protests. After the video was posted to social media, a torrent of protests emerged: they set the Minneapolis police station and other buildings ablaze. The government’s response was to send in the National Guard to combat these “thugs” as Trump tweeted. Instead of addressing the white supremacists and blatant racism within the country, President Trump threatens to shoot protestors. Instead of protecting people, the local police kill them. Instead of addressing racism, our federal government supports it. The federal government is currently trying to crush the protests, thereby crushing democracy and exposing the true foundation and priorities of the American government.
When #GeorgeFloyd garnered major attention on social media, I saw a surge in calls to action on my social media feed. People didn’t just post a “justice for George” picture like they had for Ahmaud Arbery; instead, they posted, “Text Floyd to 55156” and “Don’t just repost, take actual action.” They linked locations of protests to attend, petitions to sign, and politicians to call. My ultra-liberal friends had called for an investigation into getting Chauvin’s charges inflated and had advocated to charge him with second-degree murder. My more conservative peers have recently asked me, “What is something all Americans should agree upon now?” To which I replied, “Stop allowing innocent lives to be taken because of systemic racism.” My point in all of this is that the death of George Floyd has caused a severe reaction from my peers, the national media, and the Black community. The real question is what intensified the reaction?
I believe that George Floyd’s death spurred people to take action because of several factors: his excruciating death, people being pent up due to COVID-19, COVID-19 disproportionately affecting the Black community, and his death being the tipping point for the Black community. The viewers of the video of Floyd’s death, which quickly spread across the Internet, helplessly watched as he begged for his life, saying “I can’t breathe” at least 20 times before his death. They helplessly watched as the other officers-Lane, Kueng, and Thao- stood and did nothing. Floyd had been unjustly killed because he bought a pack of cigarettes with a suspected counterfeit twenty-dollar bill and because he was a black man who unwillingly “threatens” white people. Did three cop cars really need to investigate a supposedly fake twenty-dollar bill? Do non-Black people know what could happen when they call the cops on a Black person? Floyd’s death at the hands of police officers seems awfully similar to Eric Garner’s death in 2014. They were both murdered on camera as they were strangled by white cops, though Garner had died in a police officer’s chokehold while Floyd had died being strangled. After his death, many people wondered if Chauvin would be charged, something that should have been guaranteed. It took what should have been one day but instead took nine for Chauvin to be charged. Prior to his death, many Americans were on lock-down for months due to the pandemic. For months, quarantined people have been bottling their rage, angst, and energy inside their homes. After seeing Floyd’s death, their bottled-up feelings exploded. The once-empty streets became flooded with protests and movements across cities, states, and continents. During COVID-19, the Black community faced increased discrimination from police, employers, and the government, not to mention worse healthcare and lack of PPE in hospitals. It is no secret that police officers prosecute Black people the most, nor is it a secret that Black people were one of the first to become unemployed. Additionally, it is certainly no secret that Trump attacks the Black community. These feelings during quarantine manifested after Floyd’s death, which proved to be the tipping point for the Black community. All of these feelings resulting from the many assaults and systemic racism during quarantine manifested after Floyd’s death, proving to be the tipping point for the Black community and its allies. George Floyd was a man and a father, who bought a pack of cigarettes and became a martyr and face of a protest movement.
Following Floyd’s death, there were multiple curfews in America’s biggest cities, including Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Chicago, as a response to the vehement protests. Following Floyd’s death, tear gas was released on Minneapolis protesters. Following the protests, Trump tweeted “Great job by the National Guard.” How can anyone stay a bystander? How can anyone allow this? Most importantly, how can we, as a society, allow the wealthy to control the government and standby as innocent people are killed? The perpetual fight for civil rights in America has been building up for generations, and now... it’s about to explode.
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