Today Marks 1 year Since George Floyd's Death Sparked Racial Justice Movement Worldwide

A man and young boy pay tribute to George Floyd at a mural, one of many painted in his memory.  

Today, Tuesday, May 25, 2021, marks one year since the death of George Floyd while in custody of  Minneapolis police. He died after former officer Derek Chauvin pressed a knee to his neck for nine minutes after Floyd was arrested for allegedly using a $20 counterfeit bill in a store. 

Chauvin was convicted of three charges in the death of Floyd by a jury in April, and awaits sentencing this summer. 

A bystander's video of Floyd begging for his life and screaming “I can’t breathe!” as he lay on the street, with Chauvin and several Minneapolis officers ignoring his pleas, went viral online. His death sparked a historic summer of protests against racial injustice across the nation and worldwide. 

  

 Last summer after Floyd's death, the Birmingham Public Library experienced an uptick in patron requests for library materials about race and social justice, as well as books written by black authors. 

BPL joined a trend across the country, with books about the issue of race seeing a surge of interest due to the Floyd tragedy.  

In June 2020, BPL staff released a list of recommendations of books written by black authors as well as materials that can be used to educate patrons about the issues of race and social justice. 

In the wake of Floyd's death, BPL started a popular virtual program called Read-In for Justice, in which people of all races read books written by authors of color. The program, which received national attention from the Urban Libraries Council, was a finalist for a ULC Innovations Award in the category  of Race and Social Equity. 

BPL's Gelenda Norman, who helped come up with the program, said Read-In for Justice will return to the Birmingham Public Library this summer.  

President Joe Biden today met with Floyd's family members at the White House to mark the somber occasion, and again urged support of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the U.S. House in March but has been stalled in the U.S. Senate. 

Although the Floyd killing sparked the flames of protests across the globe, anger over past police killings had been brewing for years. Floyd's death, especially with him on video pleading for mercy from the police and screaming his late mother's name, was so disturbing that it took the racial injustice movement to unprecedented levels and garnered supporters of all races races.