Page 12 - Paths to Change

About the Text This text details the chronological events of the protests against police brutality and systemic racism as they occurred across the U.S. in response to George Floyd’s death at the hands of a white police officer. On May 25, 2020 George Floyd was arrested by Minneapolis police officers after a store owner called 911 to report Floyd for alleged forgery. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd’s neck, while he was handcuffed in custody, pinning him to the ground until he lost consciousness and stopped breathing. The entire interaction was filmed and the viral video was met with outrage and disgust. Protestors took to the streets in droves on May 26, 2020, calling for the arrest and conviction of the officers involved. It is important to note that George Floyd’s death was a tipping point for Black Americans and their allies after watching the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor go unanswered. The aftershock of George Floyd’s murder quickly morphed into protests calling for the defunding of city police, an end to police brutality aimed at Black Americans and an overhaul of systems of government and private business that are inherently racist and marginalize Blacks. Although George Floyd’s death can be pointed to as the birth of the 2020 mass civil rights movement, the movement came to represent thousands more Black lives and systems of racial injustice that were centuries in the making. As an independent text, this timeline provides context and background information for the modern civil rights movement that erupted in the U.S. in 2020. As a piece of a larger conceptual text set, the timeline provides a point of reference for subsequent texts, including voter turnout data and extension protests that would follow. While this text is designed to stand and be read on its own, encourage students to reference it as they build knowledge about protests and begin to draw conclusions about what motivates protestors and whether their work is in vain. Student Questions & Sample Responses 1. What event(s) led to the initial protests in Minneapolis? George Floyd’s death at the hands of the police led to the initial protests. 2. What timeframe does the timeline cover? The timeline chronicles events from May 25th – June 6th; 12 days. Text 1: Protest Timeline Educator Guide The Black Inquiry Project 11