His Name Is George Floyd

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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.

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 his doubt to the store’s manager who confirmed his suspicions–the bill WAS a counterfeit! Floyd was a regular there, so Martin went out to call him back. But when Martin approached the car, he found Floyd slouched in the driver’s seat, appearing exhausted. Shawanda and Maurice tried to wake him up but COULDN’T. They didn’t realize how quickly things were about to escalate.As Martin returned inside without Floyd, the store’s manager decided to involve the authorities.  Shortly after, police officers arrived. As soon as the three saw Minneapolis police officers coming towards them, they panicked– Floyd fumbled for the car keys while Maurice, knowing he had drugs in the car, quickly tried to stash them out of sight. One officer approached and tapped his flashlight against the window. The look on Floyd’s face at that moment—a look of fear—was the beginning of a series of events that would forever change the world…Growing up in America, Floyd was poor and Black–hence overlooked. He grew up in Third Ward–one of the poorest and racially segregated neighborhoods of Houston, Texas. Drugs, poverty, systemic racism, violence, addiction and police presence were always looming. Yet, even as a child, he had a sense of purpose. As a 13-year old, he told his sister Zsa Zsa, “Sis, I don’t want to rule the world; I don’t want to run the world. I just want to touch the world.” In a world determined to push him aside, he was ready to make a lasting impact. He grew up in a loving, tight-knit community. But as years passed, life became harder. His mother was left by his father, George Sr, to raise three children on her own.As a part of their upbringing, his mother repeatedly warned him and his siblings about the dangers they faced simply because they were Black. “Growing up in America, you already have two strikes,” she would say. “You’re going to have to work...

A system rigged against him

Environment shapes a man as much as his choices do. Do you think that’s true? Well, without an iota of doubt, it was in Floyd’s case. His bad chain of choices, combined with the laws in Texas, rigged everything against him.

Here’s one instance that made Floyd realize how the system saw him as a Black man, as a number, but never as a person. In 2007, he and some others were involved in a robbery where a woman was threatened at gunpoint. Floyd wasn’t the one holding the gun, but he was there—and in the eyes of the law, that sealed his fate. By 2009, after pleading guilty, he was sentenced to five years in prison. Even when he was struggling, he would pray to God for strength with fellow inmates in prison. The system kept pulling him down but he tried to uplift others. Fast forward to 2017!

Houston was bad by every measure–just BAD. So, he packed up and made the move to Minneapolis to “get right.” The move proved to be right, but just for some time. He did find a job as a security guard at a club, but then Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. And he was out of work. His words, “Man, everything’s coming at me,” hits hard. His past criminal record plus his drug habit made sure he didn’t get work soon. Not to mention, this mess is what kept him away from his daughter, Gianna. But wanting to be with his daughter and live a good life was what kept him going.

But he couldn’t push forward much because that fateful day was awaiting him.

The last breath that shook the world

May 25, 2020. The police officers had arrived at the scene. Floyd, Maurice, and Shawanda panicked. The look on Floyd’s face at that moment–a look of fear! And then, began the series of events that would forever change the world.As the officers attempted to place Floyd in their squad car, his claustrophobia kicked in. His heart raced. “I’m not that kind of guy,” he told them. “Please don’t shoot me, man,” Floyd said. These words were the sign of many times he had feared for his life in similar situations.Then came Officer Derek Chauvin–he was called to the scene. Floyd struggled and begged not to be put in the police car. Then Chauvin forced Floyd to the ground. The other three officers held him down and Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck with sheer force–for a whole NINE MINUTES AND TWENTY-NINE SECONDS. “I can’t breathe,” Floyd gasped. His voice grew weaker with each breath. His words–words that would make the nation shiver–were ignored.There would be many questions popping into your head right now, true? What were the bystanders doing? Who recorded the video? Why didn’t they do anything? The answer is - simply because they were all powerless to help. Darnella Frazier, a young girl, filmed everything. The video shows her crying to the officers to stop. “He’s not resisting,” she says. But Chauvin was unmoved. She along with other bystanders couldn’t challenge the power that Chauvin wielded in that moment.When Floyd realized that he was dying, he called out for his mother: “Mama! Mama! I’m through.” You know what was heartbreaking? To think that in his final moments, he sought the comfort of his mother who had passed away two years ago. Remember his casual-seeming “I love yous” to friends and strangers all the time? Well, they weren’t casual. Because he also called out to his friend, Maurice Hall and his kids. “Reese, I love you!” “Tell my kids I love them.” Even in his last moments, Floyd was thinking of the people he loved, the people he wanted to protect.After nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds, Floyd was unconscious. Paramedics arrived, but by then, it was too late. Floyd’s body lay lifeless on the pavement, his final words–“I can’t breathe”--echoed in the air.These words would spark one of the biggest protests of the 21st century against a long history of injustice.

A legacy of love and resistance

The protests began in Minneapolis. Thousands took to the streets. The protests weren’t just about one man–they were about generations of Black lives lost, violated, and devalued by systemic racism. And if you think that just anger brought them together, a big NO! It was love too–for Floyd–from his daughter Gianna, from his brothers, from his friends and from the rest of the world who felt his pain. To them, the protest wasn’t just for a victim of police violence; it was about a father, a brother, and a friend who was debased and demeaned because he happened not to be white!The protests spread across the U.S. and beyond. Earlier, people had been asking for justice for years. Now they were DEMANDING it. Done with polite requests; they wanted change, and they wanted it right then. This energy was palpable as crowds chanted, “Say his name!”—to which the response thundered: “George Floyd!” “Black Lives Matter” was painted in giant yellow letters on the road leading to the White House in Washington D.C.In Minneapolis, the protests took a different turn. A group of protestors formed a human chain around a police precinct to keep the building from being burned down. Ironic, isn’t it? Afterall, some of these very protesters had been fighting against police brutality, and yet others were protecting the institution that had taken Floyd’s life. Why? Because the protest wasn’t just about tearing things down; it was about building something new–demanding accountability, not chaos.However, despite these efforts, Minneapolis burned. The Third Police Precinct–division responsible for the officers involved in Floyd's arrest, was set on fire. It was the manifestation of the rage people felt toward the system that had allowed officers like Chauvin to operate unchecked for years. As one protester put it: “We built this, so we can burn it down.” But the Floyd family had a clear stance. They didn’t support violence of any form. It was simply about focusing the energy of the movement into something productive, like voting and policy change.But not everything went south in Minneapolis–there were signs of hope. The intersection where Floyd was killed was declared as George Floyd Square. It wasn’t just a memorial; it became a space where people gathered to share stories, form community, heal and build resistance–a space where Black lives TRULY mattered.Even the story of Floyd TRULY mattered because the protests that began on the intersection of...

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!

Key concepts in His Name Is George Floyd

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About the Author

Robert Samuels is a national enterprise reporter for The Washington Post who focuses on politics, policy and the changing American identity. He is also the co-author of "His Name is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice," winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction.

More on: www.washingtonpost.com/people/robert-samuels