5 Years since George Floyd's murder
It's almost as if nothing ever happened
I wanted to take the opportunity to recognise that it has been five years since the brutal murder of George Floyd by a white police officer.
It’s hard to forget the heavy feelings that hung over that day in 2020. The distress, the anger and sadness that seemed to burn through triggering so many painful memories. The trauma was palpable as life was brought to a silent standstill, and the world forced to recognise the harsh reality of racism.
People of all races took to the streets during the Covid pandemic despite warnings it would be unsafe, as many felt that racism was its own virus needing urgent action. Politicians, police chiefs, CEOs and a plethora of institutions were forced to pledge their efforts to end inequality. People took the knee, Black businesses and authors saw a boost in sales, difficult conversations were had, diversity initiatives took off and allyship became a new buzzword.
But sadly, five years on, much of that has waned and even reversed. Black people continue to be brutalised and killed by police officers, while police reform is being rowed back to the extent that there are even calls for George Floyd’s murderer Derek Chauvin to be pardoned. Companies have erased diversity, equity and inclusion from their core values and DEI has become a slur. Buying from Black businesses is no longer trendy, and we are now back to ‘normal’ as if we never watched a man being murdered on a pavement by a white police officer kneeling on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds.
But in the midst of the unrelenting inequality, there are those still fighting even when it seems futile. The charities, the Black-owned businesses, the writers, and others who want to see a fairer world where people aren’t executed in the street because of their race. The people who want everyone treated as equal which is sure to be a lifelong battle. They need support now more than ever because without any effort to combat this evil, a more hateful world is a certainty.
So on this day, I want to say rest in peace George Floyd.
Your death must not be in vain.
Thank you for writing this. I was working for the BBC at the time and it seemed as though everyone in the world was talking about this most brutal murder. Black Lives Matter is about basic humanity and human rights. And yet just over a year later the BBC issued new “impartiality” guidelines which meant that suddenly certain topics deemed “controversial” were off limits for staff on social media and we could no longer go on public events against racism as a private person. For those of us with lived experience of racism it was a new layer of anguish and a crisis of identity of being forced to choose between professional expediency and our authentic selves, the very thing that drove us to be journalists in the first place. No wonder so many of us have left.