Ahmaud Arbery. Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Jeremy McDole, Jamar Clark, Freddie Gray, Alton Sterling, Terrence Crutcher, Walter Scott, Michael Brown, Eric Harris, Akai Gurley, William Champman II, Brenden Glenn, Natasha McKenna, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, George Floyd.

Say their names. These are just a FEW of the African-American citizens who have died due to police brutality. Racist cops everywhere are getting away with murder because those who are being murdered are Black. 

Most recently, George Floyd, a Black citizen accused of forging a $20 bill was murdered by a white police officer in Minnesota. The men even worked together as bouncers at a club for years. The New York Times states that the officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 45 seconds,  as Floyd called out multiple times that he could not breathe.

Floyd was already cuffed and had been put into the back of the patrol car prior to this. Chauvin took Floyd out of the car and laid him on the ground, still cuffed, and put all of his body weight onto Floyd’s neck. Bystanders begged Chauvin to get off of Floyd and put him back into the patrol car. 

After eight minutes of crushing Floyd’s windpipe, EMTs showed up to take him to a hospital, where he later passed away. 

It has come to light that the $20 bill in question was not even forged. George Floyd died innocently at the hands of a white police officer, who had a smirk on his face the entire time, and it  took four days for Chauvin to be arrested. He is now charged with third degree murder, but many are pushing for him to get a higher sentence (first degree). 

This story is not one in  a million. Black lives are being taken at the hands of police officers all over the country. White privilege is being able to live without that fear. Being able to go for a run without fear of being shot for the color of your skin. The blatant racism and white supremacy needs to end. 

 Kneeling for the anthem made people more angry than a cop kneeling on a Black man’s neck while he suffocated and died. Peaceful protests were not acknowledged or heard and have now turned violent after the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the protest first. Extreme measures have now been taken to spread the word and the movement.

There will be no silencing any longer. This generation will not stop until there is real change. The justice system has always been corrupt, it is doing exactly what it was made to do: criminalize Black people and people of color. Police were formed from groups that killed runaway slaves, who got a new title when slavery was ended. The system must change. Everyone of every race needs to fight for equality. Those who sit back and accept their privilege are a part of the problem. 

The protests are showing white people using their privilege for good, standing between the cops and Black protesters. This is what needs to happen. True allies are active in supporting Black people and help fight for their lives. 

As Martin Luther King Jr. said before being murdered by the government, “Riot is the voice of the unheard.”

George Floyd will not be forgotten. His death sparked riots and revolution. Police will no longer be allowed to hide in the shadow of their system, free of consequence. 

Black Lives Matter. They will not be silenced. The protests will not end until justice is served and there is real change.