‘I can not breath’
Floyd’s death, nine months ago, was unlike any other before him. It was familiar in the sense that, again, an unarmed black American was killed by a white policeman. And while he begged for oxygen, his screams reflected Eric Garner’s language almost six years earlier. Garner, a black man who was put into a fatal strangulation by the police, said repeatedly, “I can’t breathe”, while he was under restraint.
The deaths of Taylor, Garner, Ahmaud Arbery, Atatiana Jefferson, Botham Jean, Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Laquan McDonald, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray and so many others like them who were killed by police or vigilantes generated outrage and protests. But the result of Floyd’s death was different.
“It was disappointing and really moving to see how little progress was made to the point where a policeman could kneel over someone for almost nine minutes, with people filming – and they could see people filming them – with the whole world watching and I don’t care ”Said Erika Maye, deputy director of criminal justice and democracy campaigns for the racial justice organization Color Of Change.
The images of Floyd’s fatal encounter reverberated around the world, uniting people of all races and sparking protests around the world for racial justice and against police brutality.
“I never expected this to turn out to be what happened,” New York State Senator Brian Benjamin said of the move that followed. “It took on a life of its own.”
“This level of interaction and interest across the board was what changed the game here in New York State,” said Benjamin, a candidate for controller in New York City, who introduced anti-strangulation legislation after Garner’s death . The project was approved in June in “record time,” said Benjamin.
“Suddenly, it became a problem for everyone,” said Benjamin.
Last week, leaders of civil rights groups called a virtual press conference to demand approval of the Federal Police reform project.
Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, said the bill is just as important as the legislation that came out of the 1960s civil rights movement – the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.
“We will be going to Minneapolis to choose the jury for the police officer who lynched George Floyd with his knee,” Sharpton told reporters. “The family is going to have to sit there and relive that.
“I hope they can sit there knowing that the laws have changed and that George was not lynched in vain and that the 2021 Senate has the same structure and integrity that the Senate had in 1964.”
Reimagining policing
Floyd’s death opened a new level of conversation about policing in communities across the country. Despite the vilification of the “strip the police” slogan, lawmakers and policy experts say they can now have conversations about reimagining policing and holding the police accountable in ways they previously could not.
“The fundraising movement is about withdrawing or transferring resources, which does nothing to improve the accountability and oversight of what remains after withdrawing funds or transferring resources,” said Loren Taylor, a member of the city council of Oakland. “The reality is that if you want the police to do better, you hold them accountable. If you want them to do less, you withdraw resources. “
Floyd’s death clearly showed the kind of experiences that blacks have had with law enforcement for a long time, leading to greater support for the Black Lives Matter movement, recognition of racism and the role it plays in American society and conversations about how to deal with the many inequalities African Americans face in housing, health, education, employment and other areas.
Still, this conversation did not lead to action everywhere. As the Chauvin trial draws near, Dave Bicking, a member of the Minneapolis-based United Communities Council against Police Brutality, said the city has already started off badly.
Bicking said Minneapolis is creating a false narrative by putting up fences and barbed wire and planning to bring in the National Guard, arguing that police violence is what the city should be concerned about. He also said that the city council has failed to approve significant changes in post-Floyd policies.
“There has been very little change,” said Bicking. “There is a radical conversation, but no action worth mentioning. A few steps back and a process, I think, designed to get you nowhere. “
Despite talk of the evacuation or even abolition of police in Minneapolis, said Bicking, none of the results seem likely.
“The net effect of that was that practically nothing has changed,” he added. “People in the government of our city do not act as if they realize that this is the epicenter of a movement, a great movement and something that is making history and that, for better or worse, it will really cause some change here.”
Black Americans are hoping that Chauvin will be condemned. But many have learned to be hopeless after disappointing results in major cases that have led to acquittal or no charges in recent years.
“Blacks have been very disappointed, on so many levels, and when it comes to trust, I think that, as people, we definitely have problems with trust. With good reason, ”said Kamau Marshall, a former spokesman for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and a former senior member of Congress. “We all know what the result should be, but what we have seen in the past with various results in most cases has not been the best way.”
Last week, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that a grand jury voted not to indict any police involved in the death of Daniel Prude, a black man who was going through a psychotic episode when the police handcuffed him, placed a net hood over his head and pinned him to the floor until he was unconscious.
The grand jury decision was a disappointment, but not a surprise for Tianna Mañón, CEO of Mañón Media Management and a former journalist who now works with reporters and newsrooms on equity in coverage and narrative.
“You knew it was going to happen, but it still hurts,” said Mañón. “It is a pain that you cannot prepare for because these people will simply continue to live their lives, and not just continue to live their lives, but within this community, so to speak.”