Since the death of George Floyd, and African-American man who was asphyxiated by a police officer during an arrest in the United States, tributes and demonstrations have multiplied. While I couldn’t bring myself to watch the video of the brutal death of the father which was captured on camera, I was immensely moved by the video of his daughter Gianna, carried on the shoulders of a friend of her father, that went viral. Full of pride for her father, Little Gianna Floyd said what we have all witnessed.
“Daddy changed the world ” exclaimed Gianna, the daughter of George Floyd , who died on May 25 following a violent police arrest in Minneapolis. 6 year old Gianna, was perched on the shoulders of a retired NBA player Stephen Jackson, who is a longtime friend of Floyd’s.
Indeed, the death of George Floyd has aroused indignation around the world, tributes have followed one another, personalities like Barack Obama, Julia Roberts, Naomi Campbell etc have taken a stand to denounce racism in the police. Following numerous demonstrations in the United States, justice has even reclassified this act of “manslaughter” to “murder” according to Senator Amy Klobuchar. The four police officers who participated in the arrest of George Floyd have been charged, while Derek Chauvin, the police officer implicated in the video, faces a sentence of 40 years in prison. For the moment, the touching video of Gianna has quickly gone viral on social networks.
Black Lives Matter
12 year old Gospel Singer Keedron Bryant sang a moving gospel in his homage entitled “I just wanna live” about living life as a black man. The song begins with“I am a young black boy”, lasts less than a minute, and has received countless reactions from celebrities and netizens alike.
Among the many reactions from internet users, actress Julia Robert , singers Melba Moore, Katy Perry, TV host Oprah Winfrey and model Ashley Graham also praised her performance in comments on the teenager’s Instagram page. Others have relayed it on their own social networks like singer Janet Jackson, actress Lupita N’yongo or ex-top model Naomi Campbell . Former US President Barack Obama even quoted him in his reaction posted to his Twitter account following the death of George Floyd and the riots that his death sparked in Minneapolis.
The senseless tragedy has invoked a worldwide outcry and people all around the globe are standing together to fight against racism despite the pandemic. In these dark times, these two strong children, Gianna Floyd and Keedron Bryant, come across as hope for the future.
The sad part is that ppl will forget everything in few days or months. Then again a merciless incident will shake ppl’s hearts n emotions. Which will be followed by protests. Its a vicious circle. But cant it be sorted out once. Or cant a regulation or rule to be formed.