On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man was killed. Floyd had
been in the process of arrest because he had allegedly used a counterfeit bill. In the
process of his arrest, he was wrestled to the ground, with an officer placing his knee on
his neck. Floyd repeatedly cried out “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” the same words Mr.
Garner uttered before his death.
After the incident, the following days were filled with protests and cries for social justice.
There was an uproar of emotion and frustration. The Black community and allies were
angry that the officer who had murdered Floyd, Derek Chauvin had only been charged with third-degree murder. Their protests were met with tear gas and rubber bullets. The protestors were enraged by the deaths of unarmed Black people, who were killed by police. Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, Laquan McDonald, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Alton Sterling, and Breonna Taylor only to name a few. These protests were different from others that came before because all of the rage that had been building up imploded. The general public was furious and delivered a direct message through their protests against police brutality and anti-blackness. Floyd's death was different because it triggered massive demonstrations and protests which changed the public opinion and garnered support for the Black Lives Matter movement. It drew mass attention to the systemic racism in America and overall informed many of the problems in the US worldwide. After many protests, officer Chauvin was charged with the murder of George Floyd, facing manslaughter and murder charges.
Where do the two major political parties stand on the systemic racism and BLM? The democrats support the BLM movement while republicans support the ALM movement, using a countering phrase of "all lives matter". In response, Black Lives Matter does not mean that everyone's life does not matter. The Black Lives Matter movement is simply stating that since the Black community has been oppressed and has had to deal with police brutality because of the color of their skin, their life matters, too. The Black Lives Matter movement is not to say that the lives of White people haven't been hard, but they have not been hard because they are White, and privileged.
Overall, the #BlackLivesMatter movement was emerged to end systemic racism, anti-
blackness, police brutality, gun violence, and general inequality for members of the Black
community. It's been long overdue that we focus on this topic and extinguish racism. It's
been long overdue that Black people, US citizens, don't have to worry about getting shot
while going on a run. It's been long overdue that we as a general public recognized this
issue. George Floyd's life mattered. Trayvon Martin's life mattered. Eric Garner's life
mattered. Breonna Taylor's life mattered. Black lives. Do. Matter.
Sources:
htthttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Lives-Matter
https://www.yesmagazine.org/education/2020/04/07/lets-talk-about-anti-blackness/
https://mrc.ucsf.edu/racial-equity-anti-black-racism
https://wheelchairsagainstguns.org/black-lives-matter-george-floyd/?keyword=black%20lives%20matter&gclid=Cj0KCQiA34OBBhCcARIsAG32uvMt5rlBZN9q5fSvMT7s2fnVQBH5ZfzXx1rdaepbC2lzcsUX12k3vkwaAhOaEALw_wcB