Exactly five years ago, the murder of George Floyd, a Black American, shook the Black Lives Matter movement. But protests against racism and excessive police violence did not lead to large-scale changes within the American police force. And those aren’t likely to come anytime soon.
What happened to George Floyd?
On Monday evening, May 25, 2020, 46-year-old Floyd buys a pack of cigarettes. Employees suspect him of paying with a counterfeit $20 bill and call the police.
During the arrest, police officer Derek Chauvin kneels on Floyd’s neck for minutes, after which the Black American dies. Floyd’s last words “I Can’t Breathe” spread around the world and led to massive Black Lives Matter protests: people demonstrate against racism and excessive police violence.
Floyd’s death did have some influence on the actions of the American police, experts tell NU.nl. A number of states and cities have passed laws reforming the police.
For example, think of banning the chokehold as a coercive measure, limiting no-knock raids, and requiring the use of bodycams. Some states have also made it easier to fire or prosecute officers after misconduct.
Moreover, Floyd’s murder caused a change in the entire American culture and politics. “People got hope,” says American expert Manon Portos Minetti. “They really felt that something was going to change in the US. You saw that in many layers of society. People were really trying to catch up.”
Dei Should Make People More Aware
This can be seen, for example, in the DEI initiatives that American companies and (police) organizations started. These revolve around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and are intended to make people more aware of racial sensitivities and injustice.
An example of such an initiative is the Racial Bias Training for officers, says Portos Minetti. “Officers are trained to profile less racially. That an officer doesn’t immediately think: this black man has his hand in his pocket, he must have a gun,” she explains. “In this way, police organizations try to remove prejudices.”
Another initiative is attracting officers with different cultural backgrounds. “Because if you have more colored officers, you can also make better contacts with the different communities,” according to Portos Minetti, is the idea. The entire Black Lives Matter movement was with all those changes “really a turning point” in the US.
National Policy Remains absent
But those changes remain limited to state and municipal levels, especially in places where the Democrats are in power. The Biden administration made another attempt in 2021 to implement national reforms with the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. “That law would have imposed huge changes on all police forces,” says American expert Andrew Gawthorpe.
The law was intended to nationally prohibit various forms of deadly violence, improve the accountability of officers and limit the so-called qualified immunity of officers. Because of the latter, police officers often could not be prosecuted for the use of deadly violence.
But it never got that far: the Republicans stopped the bill. Moreover, the Biden administration turned out to be “less aggressive in its attempts to force the police to change than some thought,” says Gawthorpe.
Hope for an Equal US Disappears
Floyd’s murder did create a moment of unity and a call for change in the United States, but they did not last long, experts say.
“You now see that the changes that have made the US more equal in the past five years or have made people feel more equal are being reversed,” says Portos Minetti. That has everything to do with President Trump’s anti-diversity policy.
“Trump and other Republicans say that DEI initiatives are just a way to punish white people,” adds Gawthorpe. “Trump is trying to ban them. Many companies now find it too expensive and too controversial and are quietly stopping them.”
Democrats are in a split
In addition, a harsh counter-reaction from the Democrats remains absent. The increasing polarization in society and politics is weakening the party, says university lecturer Katy Hull. According to her, the Democrats have ended up in a split.
“Their positions on police reform are too weak to satisfy BLM activists. At the same time, the party alienates some white middle-class Americans by acknowledging that there is systemic racism within the American police.” And many people in the middle class have police officers in their family, she explains.
The hope for an equal US, which was still there in 2020, is disappearing. About three-quarters of Americans feel that Floyd’s murder has not led to changes for black Americans. “The Black Lives Matter movement is seen as a failure,” says Gawthorpe.
And with Trump’s policy, we are not back to square one, but we are even further away than we already were, according to Portos Minetti.