A couple of weeks ago, a 46-year old man, George Perry Floyd Jr. was killed by the hands of a police officer during an arrest in Minneapolis. Floyd was unarmed and yet the officer pressed his knees to Floyd’s neck for about 9 minutes. His last words: “ They’re going to kill me”. The police officer has now been charged for second-degree murder.
What did people do to bring justice to George Floyd?
Celebrities all around the world came together to support George Floyd. Kanye West appeared in Chicago at a “Justice for George Floyd” rally on the city's South Side. The Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast took action by donating because they "condemn the murder of George Floyd" and want to "support the many people who are protesting police brutality nationally”. Lady Gaga posted a lengthy message critical of President Trump on Twitter.
Beyoncé persuaded her 147 million Instagram followers to sign several petitions to seek justice for Floyd in a rare statement and these are just a few of the celebrities taking action for Floyd’s death.
TikTok stars have also helped with this protest. Charli D’Amelio has been sharing a lot of content on Twitter, but she also posted a TikTok expressing her thoughts on the movement. The Hype House member “Avani Gregg” has been very active on Twitter, sharing petitions and posts regarding the movement. She also shared her $800 donation to the Minnesota Freedom Fund on Twitter. Bryce Hall has been posting a lot about the movement and shared numbers to call in the case of an unlawful arrest while protesting.
It isn’t just the celebrities taking action, people all around the world have made a movement as well. Actions of the police officers led to an international movement: "Black Lives Matter". This has resulted in several protests & rules to address perceived racial inequalities. People are donating money and circulating videos of black protesters and black media voices.
However, there are some people that have just posted a black picture in honour of this movement and Floyd, but is that enough? Is posting #blacklivesmatter really taking action and bringing justice for Floyd? A black man, who was a father, was inhumanly murdered just because of his skin colour. Think about what his family is going through, not only them but all black men and women around the world, what they must be going through, how scared they must be? Should they really be afraid just because of their skin colour?
What about the police officers that abused their power against a black man? This is just wrong and isn’t the first time that someone has been treated unfairly because of their skin colour. This needs to change. Peoples mentality towards another skin colour and race needs to end. It shouldn’t matter if a person is black, white or brown! We need to put a stop to racism.
Our heartfelt condolences go to the Floyd family and any other family that has gone through such an incidence.
Justice will prevail.
Writer: Kashish Bhalotia
13/06/2020
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