A year after George Floyd’s death, the world is evaluating if much has changed since he was caught on camera saying the now infamous words “I can’t breathe” while police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck.
Floyd’s death sparked national unrest spurred on by the BLM movement, with calls to stop police brutality and to defund law enforcement. From peaceful protests that spread to over 60 countries across the globe, the US eventually witnessed violent rioting, looting, arson, and several deaths throughout the summer of 2020.
Joe Biden made the pledge for racial justice and equality a vital point of his campaign, calling BLM protests a “wake-up call” to the US and calling for comprehensive police reforms. He also picked Kamala Harris as his running mate, who is now the first Black woman to serve as US vice president.
But apart from the cancel culture and fury that has hit iconic movies, TV shows, and monuments across the world, despite Dems occupying the White House and dominating Congress, the extent of changes wrought in the aftermath of Floyd’s death has been pretty limited:
- Guilty Verdict: On 20 April, Derek Chauvin, the police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes while arresting him, was found guilty on second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter charges in relation to the Black man’s death. This marked the first time a white officer in Minnesota was convicted of murdering an African American, and a rare example of a US policeman being charged for killing anyone while on duty. For many Americans this was huge, especially following the unpunished deaths of Black men Eric Garner and Michael Brown Jr.
All in all, not much has changed.