Death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Others - Essay Example

The death of George Floyd became the most significant uprisings in current American society. The victim died in the hands of four Minneapolis police and was displayed in various Media, such as televisions and social media. The United States is in an economic turmoil because of the coronavirus pandemic that has affected many people (Evelyn 1). African-Americans have been subjected to systematic racism apart from harsh economic conditions. Therefore, the government should put in place policies and measures to protect the interests and rights of all people in the United States. The essay discusses the systematic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others.

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The death of George Floyd becomes the latest uprisings of deaths as a result of racism. The individual dies in the hands of four Minneapolis police. The incident happened in this era of coronavirus pandemic that has left more than 42 million Americans jobless (Evelyn 1). However, state medical examiners realized that the individual had contacted coronavirus but it did not cause his death. It was the latest incident of racial terror that showed a video with a knee in the neck of George Floyd and this illustrated total disregard for life. His death indicates the plight of African Americans navigating the justice process. Most blacks migrated from the South to the North to escape rising cases of racism. In Minnesota, blacks are 13 times likely to die from police brutality. African Americans account for about 6.8% of the population in the state (Evelyn 3). Furthermore, coronavirus cases of blacks in the state are high because of the potential risk factors, such as lifestyle diseases like hypertension.

Also, the country’s protests in recent days expose racial discrimination in various sectors. For example, blacks are more likely to lack health insurance; hence, they live in medically-challenged communities. Furthermore, they represent a majority of workers in critical industries, and this exposes them to the pandemic (Evelyn 3). Consequently, there is a need for reforming American history and uphold the rights of all people. Although the four police officers involved in the incident have been fired, the government needs to reform the justice system and sensitize the public about the importance of upholding the rights of people, including the blacks.

Man world leaders have decried racism that contributed to the police killing George Floyd. Although many people experience different incidences of racism in various platforms, they have little to do other than electing a government that emphasizes the need of treating people equally. Former President Obama called the US Justice Department to recognize the impact of ongoing racism plays in society (Tapp 1). Leaders, such as Bush argue that protests in the US are the strength of the country before focusing on the critics.

Suffocation of the individuals is a wakeup call for the government to focus on tragic failures to containing racism and redeem values of various government agencies. Racism in the US is deep in various agencies, including the police. Due to government failures to protect the rights of all people, African Americans are harassed and their rights violated in their country. The strength of the American people includes protests that compel the government to administer justice to all people (Tapp 2). Although the protests can have an impact on the government, lasting justice can be achieved by a peaceful process. Therefore, the government should involve various agencies in developing a lasting solution that would stop the continuous violation of the rights of African Americans.

Additionally, riots across the country and other cities in the world are an indication that there is a need for justice for all people. People are calling for police accountability and recognize the fact that the lives of black people matter too (Steinmetz 1). The other implication of riots observed across the world is that there is a community that resolves to protests as a way of presenting their grievances to the government. It is through riots and protests that people are expressing their views regarding the brutality of the police and a violation of the law and order. People have the right to protest peacefully and the role of the police is to offer security (Steinmetz 3). However, protests and riots have significant socioeconomic effects because it affects businesses because of the potential damage to property. Considering the extent of protests worldwide, it is evident that people are against racism. Various professionals are calling the government to uphold justice for black people and ensure equal treatment in society. Furthermore, police should take responsibility and accountability for their actions.

Although the government has threatened all means and forces available to contain protests, including instituting dusk-to-dawn curfew in Louisville, riots continue to rage across various cities. The effects of protests include deaths and destruction of property. Some of the protesters fired at the police and the police responded killing some civilians (Oppel & Taylor 2). Police raided several houses without identifying themselves causing a conflict with dwellers. In the process, the conflict caused deaths of civilians some of which are suspected to be drug peddlers.

Fundamentally, protests across cities in the United States and worldwide indicate that people are calling for justice for all people. Racism does not have space in the 21st century. The American government should give proper attention to the protests and ensure police accountability. The emerging theme in all the protests is that people are tired of government failure to protest the rights of black people. It seems that the government is not providing the required attention to victims of police brutality and all racism victims (Oppel & Taylor 3). However, formulating a lasting solution to injustices in society requires a peaceful process that involves various stakeholders. Therefore, the government should give the required attention to the protestors while the demonstrators give the peace process a chance. In this way, the government will be committed to implementing policies that uphold human rights and ensure equality in society. Importantly, the government should identify potential loopholes in protecting the rights of all people and ensure accountability. For example, it should institute anti-racism lessons in police training colleges and in schools to sensitize all people about the importance of treating all people equally.

Conclusion

Racism has continued to exist in the United States despite the efforts of various agencies to uphold the rights of all people. The death of George Floyd is the most recent uprisings in the history of the United States. The individual died in the hands of the police as a result of police brutality. Although the individual had contacted coronavirus, it was not the cause of the death. The incident caused protests in many cities in the United States and worldwide. All the protests call police accountability and government attention. The government should recognize its failures in protecting the rights of all people and formulate stricter policies to protect the harassment of African Americans.

Works Cited

Evelyn, Kenya. In life and death, George Floyd's plight reflected the burden of being black in America. The Guardian, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/06/george-floyd-plight-reflected-burden-of-being-black-america. Accessed 11 June 2020.

Oppel, Richard & Taylor, Derrick. Here’s what you need to know about Breonna Taylor’s death. New York Times, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html. Accessed 11 June 2020.

Steinmetz, Katy. 'A War of words.' why describing the George Floyd protests as 'riots' is so loaded. Time, 2020. https://time.com/5849163/why-describing-george-floyd-protests-as-riots-is-loaded/. Accessed 11 June 2020.

Tapp, Tom. Jimmy Carter joins Ex-presidents decrying George Floyd killing, says “we need a government as good as its people” – update. Deadline, 2020. https://deadline.com/2020/06/george-w-bush-george-floyd-racism-shocking-failure-letter-1202949681/. Accessed 11 June 2020.