I Can’t Breathe

In memory of George Floyd and for planting seeds of change.

George Floyd spoke his last words on May 26th, 2020, face down on the asphalt, unarmed, and under the knee of a (former) police officer for 8 minutes 46 seconds. His susceptible and fracturable neck was trapped beneath a 170 pound man’s knee. Onlookers and video confirm Floyd was heard saying “I Can’t Breathe, Please, and Mama”. George Floyd didn’t make it to his Mama that day.

Sourced from Wikipedia, I want to share part of Floyd’s life story. With the world moving a mile a minute since the COVID shut down in March, his history outside his attack has been unknown to me until today. I don’t want to just remember a name…I want to feel his presence when I hear his name.

George Perry Floyd Jr. was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina to George Perry and Larcenia “Cissy” Jones Floyd, and raised in Cuney Homes in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas, a historic black neighborhood, and one of the poorest areas of the city known as Bricks. He had six siblings.

The first of his siblings to go to college, Floyd attended South Florida Community College for two years on a football scholarship, and also played on the basketball team.

Floyd returned to Houston from college in 1995 and became an automotive customizer and played club basketball. Beginning in 1994, he had also performed as a rapper using the stage name “Big Floyd” in the hip hop group Screwed Up Click.

Starting in 1997, Floyd was arrested multiple times for drug possession and theft. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to five years in prison. He was paroled in January 2013 after almost four years at the Diboll unit.

After Floyd’s release, he became more involved with Resurrection Houston, a Christian church and ministry, where he mentored young men. He helped his mother Cissy exercise and recuperate after she had a stroke. He delivered meals, and assisted on other projects with Angel By Nature Foundation, a charity founded by rapper Trae tha Truth. Later he became involved with a ministry that brought men from the Third Ward to Minnesota in a church-work program with drug rehabilitation and job placement services.

In 2014, Floyd moved to Minneapolis to find work. He was a truck driver and a bouncer, and lived in St. Louis Park. In 2017, he filmed an anti-gun violence video. From 2017 to 2018, he was a security guard for The Salvation Army‘s Harbor Light Center. In 2020, he lost his security job at a bar and restaurant hit by the COVID-19 pandemic rules. That April, he contracted COVID-19, and recovered after a few weeks.

Floyd had five children, including two daughters (ages 6 and 22) in Houston and an adult son in Bryan, Texas. A former partner lives in Houston with his youngest daughter. He also had two grandchildren.

On May 26th 2020 the world lost

A man
An African American
A father to 5
A caretaker to his mother
An athlete
A spoken word artist and musician
An addiction and COVID-19 Survivor
A philanthropist
A mentor
A citizen who provided security to others

A multi-faceted human who was constantly evolving. He is like you and I, struggling with choices and sometimes in hindsight, we see where a bad choice began. The injustice in Floyd’s attack began when a shopkeeper called the police for a man (I have not seen where anyone confirmed the man was Floyd) using a counterfeit $20 to pay for a pack of cigarettes. The police found Floyd resting in the driver’s seat of his car nearby (still unsure of the confirmation this was the same man from the shop), he peacefully got out of his car, but resisted getting in the squad car, citing claustrophobia (behavioral psychologist would note this could have been triggered by his memories of his prior arrest, and that is not a crime). Instead of pausing to conduct an actual investigation, the police escalated to pinning Floyd on the ground where he died 9 minutes later for what was an assumption on the part of many players. The difference of learning from our choices by hindsight, is the choices of black men are 3x more likely to result in death when a police officer gets involved.

Today is Saturday June 13th. It has been 19 days of passionate marching, peaceful protesting, and harmonic shouts for justice since Floyd’s tragic death. Chants and gatherings have rung out in 750 cities across all 50 states, and 60 countries globally. Ringing out cries such as George Floyd’s final words “I Can’t Breathe”, “Black Lives Matter”, and “Say Their Names” for the thousands of other unarmed black men and women who have died at the hands of excessive police force.

“What we see now in the Black Lives Matter protests is a focused political action by a group of people who are intent on changing unjust practices, unjust laws, unjust funding patterns in our country that are negatively affecting the African-American community and are in fact examples of institutional racism,” Scherer said. Tobin Scherer, director of the African American Studies program at the University of Montana

Thankfully, in an act of justice, the (former) Minneapolis Police Officer, Derek Chauvin was fired the next day, and he has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. This is justice because when a crime was committed, there was an investigation, bolstered by plenty of evidence. So now what?

By June, the Minneapolis City Council took steps to ban the use of chokeholds, and require other officers to intervene when excessive force is being used. Minneapolis Chief of Police is looking into how to restructure Police Unions to provide more transparency and move towards true reform. “In doing so, they accepted that the Minneapolis police department – which five consecutive mayors have ultimately failed at reforming – might be beyond repair. Now, council members plan to develop a plan for policing with the community. Having analysed 911 calls, they have already found that the majority pertain to mental health services, health and emergency medical services and fire services – and so, in part, are committing to redirecting efforts to social services instead.” Poppy Noor with The Guardian

This is an extremely valuable find: the statistics of 911 calls received. I’ve read accounts from police officers where they state the absurdity of being sent to do duties of a social worker, marriage counselor, behavioral therapist, and paramedic, and occasional firefighter after just 1000 hours of training. As a Massage Therapist with a prevailing interest in all things public health, these statistics are where we can start to find solutions.

There is a lot of talk and some action towards defunding the police – I don’t have enough knowledge to discuss it – but I can read data, and the budget allocation in NYC is alarming.

In NYPD’s $6bn budget – which amounts to more than the budgets for the city’s health ($1.9bn), homeless services ($2.1bn), youth and community development ($872,000), and small business services ($293,000) budgets combined. The Guardian

The world is staying alert and continues to engage positive, peaceful pressure towards the systems and perpetrators of racism. I am green to social and political activism, but I am heartened to hear the alertness and tenacity of so many. I’m here on earth, and writing today, to be the best ally I can be – the specialists, leaders, and educators inspire me daily with tools: to read, listen, and activate.

Today I planted a seed in myself. A seed that contains the systemic issues of discrimination and how every instance of discrimination no matter how small or large takes a toll on the health of individuals. History shows us time and time again, to live a lifetime of value, and to pass on the human race to our children, we need healthy and mentally fulfilled bodies. When I continue to learn from people, I water my seed, and give it the nutrients to grow. I feed myself in order to listen to the universe unfold the connections I need to create a business where health, empowerment, anti-racism, and care is present in every minute.

Bodinuity occurs when you enter a state where your physical body and your mind’s intuition synchronize into unity.

Today I leave you with a very grounding and thoughtful Yoga session It will be here for you when you are ready.

Rest in Power George Floyd, along with all our brothers and sisters taken from the world too soon.

With Health and Happiness We Go,

Kaitlin Bachmeyer

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