Author: Tjaša & Kristijan
His tragic death is powering a movement against police aggressive brutality and racial discrimination.
Who was George Floyd and why he will be forever remembered.
George was born in New York city to his father George Perry and mother Larcenia. His parents divorced in his early years and that lead himself and his mum moving with their siblings in Texsas.
When George was growing up he was known as “Big Floyd” and his nickname certainly matched with his humorous personality. He was a jokester, cracking jokes at all times. Everything changed on May 25, 2020. A 46 years old African-American was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest for allegedly using a fake bill. His name was George Floyd.
A white officer named Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost eight minutes while George was handcuffed and lying face down, repeatedly begging for his life and saying:
“I can’t breathe”.
During the final two minutes of his short life, Floyd was motionless and had no pulse while Chauvin refused to remove his knee, which he did not do until medics told him to.
In almost an instant videos that were shoot with security camera went viral all over the internet. People were furious and started responding. All four officers were fired, but people wanted justice for Floyd’s death. Chauvin, the man who killed Floyd was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, to which was later added second-degree murder. The three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
His death triggered many protests against police brutality, police racism and even lack of police accountability. In the start of June, the Minneapolis City Council took action to ban chokehold and require police officers to intervene against the use of excessive force by other officers.
Chauvin the man who was kneeling on Floyd’s neck was later bailed out of jail by people founding his bail on crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe, IndieGoGo and Kickstarter. The rumor has it that Chauvin himself put up the campaign himself.
What is racism
Racism is a form of discrimination which is often described as severe negativity towards nationality. It is based on judgment of racial differences between people and it is shown in behavior, discrimination and acts.
We know that in Slovenia there is no lack of racism, which is shown in many different forms. The loudest and dangerous in work of politics and its civil exposures, that they are selling racism as home loving, then are this subculture as are football supporters, skinheads, who were in the past frequently dealing with people of color on the streets of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.
European Union reacts to the death of George Floyd
From Berlin to Barcelona, thousands of people are rallying against racial inequality and police brutality. The protest movement was denounced as “reckless” for ignoring social distancing rules.
Slovenia
A few dozen people gathered outside the U.S Embassy in Ljubljana to support of anti-racism protests in the United States which were started with the tragic death of George Floyd following his arrest by Minneapolis police.
Spain
Thousands of people in Spain were engaged in anti-racism protests. Several thousand gathered in front of the US embassy in Madrid, many holding signs saying “I can’t breathe,” which were George Floyd’s last words.
Germany
Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg have become the latest German Bundesliga football teams to show their respect with the Black Lives Matter protests. Both sides took a knee before the game began, echoing a similar gesture made by fellow teams Borussia Dortmund and Hertha Berlin.
Denmark
At least 5,000 people have joined a demonstration against racism and police violence in Copenhagen. Protesters gathered in front of the US embassy in the Danish capital’s Osterbro district. Danish radio station DR reported that the call to action was made by the Danish branch of the Black Lives Matter movement.
England
A statue of English 17th-century slave-owner and merchant Edward Colston has been toppled to the ground by Black Lives Matter protesters in the UK city of Bristol.
Rights groups and protesters called earlier in the week for his statue to be removed. Colston left a big legacy on the city of Bristol with a lot of streets named after him.
Black Lives Matter protests were planned across all the UK for Sunday. Event organizers in Bristol say around 7,000 people turned out.
Italy
Rome has seen its first major rally against racism as thousands of protesters gathered in People’s Square. Most wore masks in the country that has seen one of the highest death rates from COVID-19.
Participants listened to speeches and waved placards reading “Black Lives Matter.” The peaceful rally was attended by people of all ethnic backgrounds and ages. At one point, demonstrators kneeled and raised a fist in solidarity with those fighting racism.
What will happen next with this protest movement in Europe and across the globe? Is it a one-off event with little long-term momentum or the start of a bigger wave of change? For now, it is hard to predict.
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