On May 25, George Floyd — a 46-year-old Black man already handcuffed and pinned face-down to the ground — was killed when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the back of his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds.
Floyd’s murder was filmed by several bystanders who pleaded with Chauvin to get off of his victim’s neck. They also begged Chauvin’s three fellow officers to help Floyd — who can be heard on the videos begging for his life, saying “I can’t breathe” while calling out for his mother — but they did not stop Chauvin.
Almost nine minutes later, Floyd was checked for a pulse, but it could not be found and he was officially pronounced dead at an area hospital.
The next day all four officers were fired, but it wouldn’t be until May 29 until Derek Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. As for Chauvin’s accomplices — Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — they weren’t arrested until June 3, when they were charged with aiding and abetting Chauvin in George Floyd’s murder.
Nationwide protests led by community leaders for the Black Lives Matter movement began the very night Floyd was killed, and are ongoing. Many politicians have condemned the protests, calling those involved “thugs” and the protests themselves nothing more than chaotic looting and rioting. Some celebrities have been inspired to publicly defend the movement, while others have marched with protestors.
A Song of Ice and Fire author and Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin has been silent about the protests up to this point, but took to his Not a Blog to weigh in yesterday. He posted a picture of two separate quotes from American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman Fredrick Douglas, who was born into slavery in 1817:
Martin did not write a long post as he usually does. He titled the post, “Words For Our Times.”
What started as the murder of an already subdued Black man has turned into the world standing up and saying that the murder of anyone is wrong, but it is happening far too often to People of Color. And while it may be easy to say “All Lives Matter” during this tumultuous time in our nation’s history, the killing of 25-year-old Black man Ahmaud Arbery at the hands of three white men in Glynn County, Georgia; the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Black woman Breonna Taylor by three Louisville Metro Police officers in her own home in Louisville, Kentucky; and the suffocation murder of Black man George Floyd by Minneapolis by police officer Derek Chauvin while his three fellow officers watched — as well as countless other Black men and women throughout history — mean that you should care that Black Lives Matter.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels