Introduction

“I love you.”

George Perry Floyd Jr., often known to his friends as “Big Floyd,” said these words to just about anyone–friends, family, even strangers. Seems like a casual sentiment, right? Well, it did seem like it to his friends too. But as time passed and their shared world of friends and family was worn down by gun violence, addiction, and police brutality, those casual-looking three words took on a deeper meaning. Apparently, Floyd wasn’t just throwing them around. In a world full of uncertainty for men like him, saying those three words was Floyd’s way of ensuring that people were valued–even in a reality which devalued them.

Big Floyd had big dreams: becoming a Supreme Court justice, a rap star, a pro athlete. But by spring 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic had hit the world. And it hit Floyd hard too. Like so many others, he lost his job. His big dreams were replaced by more modest ones for stability–a steady job, health insurance, and the chance to be the father he longed to be for his daughter, Gianna. His ambitions changed, but not him. He remained a man full of love with a hope to make things right. He tried to stay afloat for his future.

That future never came.

On May 25, 2020, everything changed. Floyd’s last moments were captured in a chilling, unforgettable video that shook the world. With a white police officer’s knee pressed into his neck, he couldn’t breathe. And cried out for his mother, “Mama, I love you.” His final words became the rallying cry for a global movement that demanded justice, not just for him, but for countless others like him.

Who was George Floyd? What led to those fateful nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds that would forever change the world? There’s more to this story than the tragic end you already know by now. This is just the beginning of the journey of a man. It’s a story of hope and pain, of dreams derailed but never extinguished. And there’s history–both personal and systemic–that made Floyd’s struggle so familiar to millions of Black Americans.

Stay tuned because you won’t want to miss the rest.

Summary

George Floyd–a man with big dreams and hopes that always seemed just out of reach. Despite the constant lurking of systemic racism, violence, addiction, and whatnot, he wanted to make something of himself–to provide for his daughter, to find stability, to breathe freely in a world that never gave him room to breathe!

Big Dreams, Bigger Struggles

May 25th started as a simple, carefree day. He went to a store called CUP Foods with his friend Maurice Hall. There he met his old flame, Shawanda Hill. He bought a pack of menthol cigarettes using a $20 bill. Together, they headed back to Floyd’s car. All pretty regular! But something unexpected was about to happen on this seemingly regular day.Inside CUP Foods, a teenage cashier named Christopher Martin became suspicious about the $20 bill Floyd gave. He raised...