HOW CAN WE ALL BREATHE?

Is George Floyd's death used for an agenda while his name stays asleep with the rest of him? NIH Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Institute for Diversity Certification, (IDC), Inc. (formerly The Society For Diversity) RACIAL EQUITY CREED (Center for Racial Equity in Education) Police Strategy Forum

Introduction: It’s easy to remember the bad in a person, but what about the good? murdered by a white police officer Too often when someone is killed by the police, somehow, their criminal profile becomes the highlight of who they were as an attempt to justify the end to the means. It was no secret that George Floyd was not an angel. But who is? Shortly, after his demise, the public was electrocuted by the media. We quickly learned about Floyd’s years of run-ins with the law. We were also alerted about his 4-year imprisonment, drug and alcohol addictions, and the shaky suspicion about a counterfeit $20 bill that caused him to bow down to death.

A Human: What was not publicized was his positive transition to a religious movement. His work in the community included: supporting individuals who were unhoused, mentoring at-risk residents, and sharing his story to prove that sobriety is possible. In early years, he was an athlete and a hard-working, law-abiding citizen who fell on hard times. ?

Remembering George Floyd: George Perry Floyd was born October 14, 1973 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Those closest to him called him “Big Perry” after his dad and due to his large stature. He moved to Minnesota to reframe his life. And though it ended tragically, his death became the catalyst to Black voice police accountability. His death birthed a population of woke White folk to rally around issues that Blacks have cried over for more than 400 years. Floyd’s untimely, martyred death resuscitated antiquated mandates that laid dormant for decades and brought about more acronyms than the world could keep up with.

• POC or BIPOC: In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. named the citizens of color as Blacks were un-affectionately called “coloreds.” The nation did not catch up until the 1970s, renaming King’s citizen of color to (POC-People of Color). In 2013, BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) surfaced on twitter. In the thick of the acronyms, it appears that there are short cuts that fail to account lived experiences of non-White citizens societal disparities-BIPOC seems to be a category of othering-people cannot be boxed in and should not be characterized because society cannot figure out where to put them.
• ?BLM (Black Lives Matter) brewed after the shooting deaths of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin (Florida) on February 26, 2012 and 22-year-old Rekia Boyd (Illinois) on March 21, 2012 excessive force by police officers BLM pinpointed racial disparities, with Blacks 3 times more likely to be killed than Whites during an encounter with police study?
• DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) is a spin off from President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 Affirmative Action Affirmative Action in the United States It was designed to re-enforce fair treatment to those historically underrepresented based on race; health; class; disability; identity, and age discrimination?identity. DEI-B is a descendent of DEI and was designed to ensure diverse cultural and individualized relevance is represented.
• LGBTQ was recognized June 28, 1970 https://medium.com/queer-history-for-the-people/a-brief-history-of-the-lgbtq-initialism-e89db1cf06e3 On June 11, 1999, President Clinton signed proclamation 7203-Gay/Lesbian Pride Month was to bring consciousness to the public about same sex relationships. In 2009, President Obama reorganized the terms to emphasize a zero tolerance against hate crimes and to bridge a dignity gap.

I can't breathe: And although Floyd’s death was a social justice landmark, some might argue that old injustices have overstepped boundaries by withholding his name. It feels that his death was used to contemplate woke-ness while his name stays asleep with the remainder of him. Floyd’s last words on May 25, 2020, were, “I can’t breathe.”

Remarks: As America and the rest of the world learn to breathe, it is important to exhale excuses and inhale justice, once and for all.

About the author: She is from the Midwest and gains her strength from realness. She relies on accountability to be the voyage towards justice.