The death of George Floyd has sparked anger in many people, includingJiya Gaur, a teenager, 13 years old girl and student of Class 9 who lives in Gurugram, Haryana, India and who also has hobbies of reading, writing and dancing like others in her age. Even she felt immense pain to read stories about Floyd’s death in US. It was equally heart rendering for her as billions of others worldwide. And she sees, the aftermath is soul shattering. “

Justice should have been served a long time ago. Racism is a human thing, it can be solved,” writes Jiya in this heart touching special article.  

By Jiya Gaur, Gurugram, Haryana

Eight minutes and forty six seconds is all it took to snuff the life of George Floyd.

On May 25th, 2020 Minneapolis police officers arrested George Floyd, a 46- year-old African American who was accused of buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. Seventeen minutes after the first squad car arrived at the scene, George was found unconscious and pinned beneath three police officers. He was showing no signs of life.

The death triggered violent unrest in Minneapolis. This led to peacetime emergency being declared in the state of Minnesota as well as the enlivening of the national guard. 

This very incident has once again highlighted the concerns related to the law enforcement’s bias against the African American minority. The death of George Floyd is being cited as the most recent incident of police brutality.

This case of injustice moved thousands of humans across the World. There have been protests not only in the United States but also in Britain, Spain and Nigeria.

“I can’t breathe”, those were the words Floyd repeated time and again. It was a cry for help.

This very quote equates racism with the deprivation of air, which is what it always was. People have drawn comparison between Floyd and Erick Garner, who had uttered the same words while being held in a chokehold.

“I can’t breathe” has now become a rallying cry among protestors. These words brought an awakening. Changes needed to be made. It goes without saying that “I can’t breathe” means that people are being deprived of freedom, humanity and respect.

In the history of America, there have been so many leaders who paved the path against racial discrimination. The fight for racial equality was not easy. Leaders like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King fought tirelessly in order to secure racial equality.

There have been various other cases. Some high profile deaths include the 2016 shooting of Philando Castile, a 32-year-old black man who was shot seven times. Another incident from 2016 that raged people was when the police pinned Alton Sterling to the ground and shot him. Despite the constant efforts, racial injustice still exists. 

In 2013, after the acquittal of a civilian who shot a teenager in Florida the year before, the hashtag “Black Lives Matter” began trending on social media. Three African American women started a movement against violence against the African American community.

This movement spread across the US. Once again, the hashtag is being used to spread awareness and help make a change. Social media can either make a situation better or worse, in this scenario, it is both.

It has been used to make more people aware of the incident that had occurred and days such as “black out tuesday” allow African Americans to convey their feelings. At the same time, there are people responding with counter-arguments such as “All lives matter” and “Blue lives matter”. 

Racism is a curse and needs to be rooted out. During the protests, there have been incidents of looting, shooting, gas tearing and arson. This is disrespect to the cause against racism.

The main motive is to end this inequality. While Floyd’s death was heart rendering, the aftermath is soul shattering. The death of George Floyd has sparked anger in many people. Justice should have been served a long time ago. 

“Racism is a human thing, it can be solved.” 

Image courtesy - George Floyd - Al Jazeera / Adam Berry/Getty Images/ NBC News