I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed and we hold this truth to be self-evident, that all human are created equally. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a country where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Martin Luther king junior delivered this remarkable speech “I have a dream” during U.S civil right movement.
Black people have experienced discrimination or have been treated unfairly because of their race or ethnicity. Some of the American states where racism is at its peak. Black life has always been criminalised and dehumanised in America.
Unfortunately, after decades, the king’s dream did not come true. Legacy of slavery continues to have an impact on the position of black people in American society even 155 years after the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
The death of George Floyd
He was groaning, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe” and “Don’t kill me!” these were his last words. George Floyd African-American, unarmed and handcuffed, has been died by a white police officer who pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck. The officers were responding to a call from a grocery store that claimed Floyd used a fake $20 bill. Police said he physically resisted officers.
https://twitter.com/officialcredtv/status/1265622109180526592
Global outrage sparked when a video of George Floyd’s arrest was seen by millions around the continents. It displays George Floyd laying on the ground with white officer Derek Chauvin’s knee pinning him to the ground as he begged for air to breathe. Through footage it can be seen, Minneapolis Police officers use excessive force, although Floyd was not resisting arrest.
Other black people murdered by the police
George Floyd’s death reminds us of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died in 2014 after being placed in a chokehold by New York City police and pleading: “I can’t breathe.” Garner 43, father of six, was arrested on suspicion of allegedly selling loose cigarettes on 17 July 2014.
After the incident Daniel Pantaleo a policeman who murdered Garner was put on desk duty and faced charges. An NYPD (New York Police Department) departmental judge has suggested that Officer Pantaleo be fired for his involvement in the 2014 death of Eric Garner. The verdict, which is non-binding, found Pantaleo, 33, guilty of using a chokehold on Garner but not guilty of aggravated assault. Another black man was murdered by a police officer, six years after Eric Gardner’s death, with his last words being the same “I can’t breathe”.
Read more: George Floyd’s murder: Violent protests continue in the US
George Floyd’s last words speak the truth of black life in America. Black people have experienced discrimination or have been treated unfairly because of their race or ethnicity. Black people in the United States are bearing the brunt of indiscriminate behavior and the wrath of a white supremacist. Some of the American states where racism is at its peak. Black life has always been criminalised and dehumanised in America.
Condition of the African-American’s during various regimes
During Barack Obama’s presidency, Michael Brown, Eric Garner and countless other unarmed African-Americans were killed by police, but with a black president, many Americans felt progress was attainable. Social media raised awareness of these injustices and helped to create the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. Now under the racist president, Donald Trump indiscrimination against Black people have been and white Americans supremacist are being encouraged to re-employ black codes.
Generally in America, destitute people are African-American and they remain behind the bars for long periods of time awaiting trial because in minor offences courts require money bail as a condition of release.
U.S police often involve discriminatory acts against Black American. Racial disparities in police use of force, arrests, citations, road and traffic stops continue to exist. Black residents consistently reported experiences of abusive policing.
Reports mentioning the killing of Black Americans
As per Washington Post, 1,004 people were killed by cops in 2019, Black Americans are killed by police at a disproportionate rate even though blacks make up 13 per cent of the population. As per an analysis conducted by The Guardian in 2015, of the 1093 people killed in police shootings that year.
The report also noted that black men were nine times more likely to be killed by police than other Americans. Stark racial disparities exist in the prison population, African-American adults are nearly six times as likely to be imprisoned or jailed as white adults, the imprisonment rate for black men is almost six times the rate for white men, among black women, it is nearly twice as high as among white women according to the Sentencing Project watchdog group.
Read more: Racism and redemption: Virginia blackface row stirs painful past
Generally in America, destitute people are African-American and they remain behind the bars for long periods of time awaiting trial because in minor offences courts require money bail as a condition of release.
Human rights violation
The United States so-called champion of human rights always prosecutes and victimises other states on the rhetoric of human rights. Trump administration is holding China, Iran, Russia, Afghanistan, Cuba, Syria, South Korea and Venezuela responsible for severe human rights violation and tarnishes the images of these states over the globe. But according to the PEW research center report, about eight-in-ten blacks (78%) say the country hasn’t gone far enough when it comes to giving Black people equal rights with whites. Two-third say it has become more common for people to express racist views since Trump became president.
Black people are treated less fairly than whites in employment situations (86%), in stores or restaurants (73%), when applying for a loan or mortgage (78%) when seeking medical treatment (61%), pay or promotion, an employer in hiring and they have been unfairly stopped by police.
The recent killings of young African Americans
The police killing of George Floyd comes on the back of two other killings of black Americans in recent weeks. Video footage of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, from February began circulating in May. He was jogging through a neighborhood outside Brunswick, Georgia when he was shot dead by two white men.
The 4 officers from Minneapolis are THUGS. Amy Cooper is a THUG. The Louisville officers who killed Breonna Taylor in her home are THUGS. Gregory McMichael & his son, Travis McMichael, are THUGS. Dylann Roof is a THUG. George Zimmerman is a THUG.
Let’s be clear! pic.twitter.com/c2ZFxgQwWP
— Jakkar Aimery (@WordsByJakkar) May 29, 2020
Just a few weeks after Arbery died, Breonna Taylor, 26, certified EMT, was killed in her bed at home by police officers. President of the Minneapolis chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of (NAACP) said, “Enough is enough, colored people are done dying, we want to see them prosecuted”.
The post-death scenario of George Floyd’s
The killing of Floyd was a sparking point. Demonstrators filled the intersection where George Floyd was pinned down, chanting “I can’t breathe” and “No justice, no peace”. In Minneapolis and St Paul where peaceful protests have turned into riots, following clashes with police. On Thursday night, demonstrators set ablaze the police precinct in Minneapolis and it continued to burn on Friday. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has imposed a curfew on the city beginning on Friday night. Protests have also taken place in Chicago, Oakland, Los Angeles, Columbus, and New York.
What the world saw in the street of Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. was a public lynching without a rope. Martin Luther King once said, “Our lives begin to end, the day when we become silent about the things which matter.”
The writer is a public policy analyst and has an interest in geopolitics. He tweets @OmerAliAwan and can be reached Omaraliawan14@gmail.com