The Opportunity Index

9Plastic Bag

I STILL HAVEN'T WATCHED THE full eight-minute video of George Floyd being murdered. I think I watched about four minutes before I had to turn it off. My initial reaction the first time the clip was sent to me was one of ambivalence, not because of what it entailed but because I have seen this movie before. This isn't the first time that footage of Black people dying at the hands of the police has emerged. On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner was killed in New York after police approached him on suspicion of selling single cigarettes. Eyewitnesses told a different story, that Eric had broken up a fight. But when two police officers arrived, the two men who were fighting had already left. Police surrounded Eric, who protested his innocence and asked the officers why they were continuously harassing him. Sirens can be heard in the background as more officers arrive. One of the officers then grabs Eric by the neck and pulls him to the ground, while the other officers, who now number about eight, cuff him and keep him in a choke hold. Another officer kneels on the back of Eric's head and pushes it into the ground. The footage ends with Eric lying lifeless on the floor. To write this section I had to rewatch the video and still can't get through the first couple of seconds without crying. Crying because a man who is pleading “I can't breathe” is being suffocated to death. Crying because he is Black and looks just like me. Crying because it reminds me of the time the police ...