George Floyd Killed: Global Racial Justice Movement Erupts

A convenience store clerk called the police over a suspected counterfeit $20 bill, and the arrest that followed was recorded on a bystander's phone for nine minutes and 29 seconds. On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck while Floyd lay handcuffed and face-down on the pavement, repeating "I can't breathe" until he went silent. Floyd was 46 years old. Darnella Frazier, a 17-year-old passing by with her cousin, filmed the encounter on her phone. The video showed Chauvin maintaining pressure on Floyd's neck while three other officers watched or assisted. Bystanders pleaded with the officers to check Floyd's pulse. Chauvin did not move until paramedics arrived. Floyd was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center. Frazier posted the video that evening. Within 48 hours, protests erupted in Minneapolis, then spread to all 50 states and at least 60 countries. The Minneapolis Third Precinct police station was abandoned and burned. National Guard troops deployed to multiple American cities. An estimated 15 to 26 million people participated in demonstrations over the following weeks, making the George Floyd protests the largest mass movement in U.S. history by participation. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter in April 2021, and sentenced to 22.5 years in state prison. The three other officers were convicted of federal civil rights violations. Minneapolis banned the use of chokeholds and neck restraints. The movement accelerated police reform legislation at city and state levels across the country. Corporate and institutional responses to racial inequality reshaped workplace policies, philanthropic commitments, and public discourse. Floyd's death became a defining event of the decade, a moment when a phone camera and a public sidewalk produced consequences that legislation and advocacy alone had not.