Reimagination: The George Floyd Story
The intersection between power and vulnerability came to light when one man struggled to breathe causing a chain reaction of protests around the world. May 25, 2020, a day that reeked of tension was transformed into a testament to human testament of resilience and justice.
May 25, 2020, was the most memorable day of my life. This was the day that could’ve ended up an American tragedy ended up turning into an American miracle story. I am from Minneapolis MN, home to culture, diversity and what I believed was equity.
It started as a normal day, I went to school and went home and played video games til I got hungry. I was a regular at the corner store on Chicago St. Man they always had the best stuff! During my visit, I noticed another regular, Mr. Floyd, who was there to get a pack of cigarettes per usual. I said bye to him after I checked out at the register and waited outside for the bus to come.
The bus took way longer than it usually takes to come. During my waiting time, I scrolled through TikTok to get my daily dose of fake news for the day when I heard arguing coming from inside the corner store. This was a regular occurrence, so I tried to mind my business, but it only got louder and louder. Then I heard the blazing siren of a cop car, and that’s when I started to panic. I knew that nothing good resulted from a police officer disputing an argument, at least not on this side of town.
Now this is when it gets interesting. I see a patrol officer rush into the store and carry Mr. Floyd out. The two of them ended up arguing about what seemed like forever when I saw Mr. Floyd get slammed to the ground. Being a scrawny teenager, I didn’t feel like I had what it took to do any harm by interfering, so I pulled out my phone to record this incident. Mr. Floyd is not the type of man to back down, but in this case, I could tell he was defeated, to the point where he wasn’t even fighting back. That is when I realized the officer’s knee was on his neck, so harshly that Mr. Floyd couldn’t breathe. I didn’t notice this until I heard Mr. Floyd gasping for breath saying the iconic words “I can’t breathe” which would later flood the internet.
Five minutes had passed, and my heart continued to sink. I could tell this was not getting any easier for Mr. Floyd, It wasn’t getting any easier for me to watch. That’s when I hear a loud pop sound, almost like the breaking of a spring mechanism. Little did I know, the officer who was risking the life of Mr. Floyd had a prosthetic leg that had popped out of place to relieve the pressure off Mr. Floyd’s neck. To my surprise, not a moment sooner after Mr. Floyd caught his breath, he was helping the officer put his prosthetic leg back on! The look on everyone’s faces was beyond shock.
After the ambulance had arrived, Mr. Floyd received the help he needed. After he left in the emergency vehicle, I uploaded the footage I took as my first TikTok video. The next day the the video went viral. This allowed me to reflect on what could have been the worst day of my life, and a tragic day for America. This taught me that no matter how much power you have, you are destined to be vulnerable at some point. This also saved America twice in one day. Once from the loss of a citizen and once from the flawed system of taking another innocent life. Today we use the phrase “I can’t breathe” as a symbol of strength, instead of a symbol of defeat. As I reflect on what happened, I think about everything that could’ve gone wrong and praise Mr. Floyd for his strength and his willingness to help even though he was almost violated to the fullest extent; till death.
