TABLE OF CONTENTS Video Summary & Related Content 3 Video Review 4 Before Viewing 5 Talk Prompts 6 The Story 9 ACTIVITY 14 Sources 15

CREDITS News in Review is produced by Visit www.curio.ca/newsinreview for an archive CBC NEWS and curio.ca of all previous News In Review seasons. As a companion resource, go to www.cbc.ca/news GUIDE for additional articles. Writer/editor: Sean Dolan Additional editing: Michaël Elbaz CBC authorizes reproduction of material contained in this guide for educational VIDEO purposes. Please identify source. Host: Michael Serapio Senior Producer: Jordanna Lake News In Review is distributed by: curio.ca | CBC Media Solutions Supervising Manager: Laraine Bone © 2020 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation : WHY HE MATTERS

Video duration – 16:43

In May 2020, 46-year-old George Floyd, a Black American, died during an arrest, pinned under the knee of a White police officer. His death galvanized a nation fed up with police brutality and racism against the Black population. The fury spread as hundreds of thousands of protesters and rioters took to the streets demanding change in cities across the country. Those protests continued to spread up into Canada and across the world.

The question remains: Is George Floyd’s killing a turning point for race relations in the United States?

Related Content on curio.ca • News in Review, October 2016 – : Activism in the Face of Racism in the U.S. • News in Review, February 2015 – Anger and Authority in the United States • News in Review, October 2014 – Michael Brown's Shooting: Racial Divide in America • Above the Law (CBC Docs POV) • Frame 394 (CBC Short Docs) • The Skin We're In (Firsthand)

curio.ca/newsinreview / 3 VIDEO REVIEW

curio.ca/newsinreview / 4 BEFORE VIEWING 1. George Floyd is one of many Black people killed by police over the past few years. Review the stories of Black Americans who have recently died at the hands of police by consulting the CBC story, “From Eric Garner to George Floyd: Recent US police killings of black people”: www.cbc.ca/news/world/police-killings-recent-history-george-floyd-1.5593768 What did the article tell you about the experiences of Black people when it comes to dealing with the police? 2. The problem has gotten so bad in the United States and Canada that Black parents have had to teach their children how to behave when they are confronted by the police. Check out this short video: https://youtu.be/coryt8IZ-DE How did you feel while watching the video? What stood out for you? Is it reasonable to expect people to have to be so careful when approached by the police? Follow up: Read NASA astronaut Leland Melvin’s account of how an encounter with police nearly derailed his career: www..com/2020/08/31/us/leland-melvin-nasa-astronaut-scn-trnd/index.html

George Floyd: Why He Matters curio.ca/newsinreview / 5 TALK PROMPTS

curio.ca/newsinreview / 6 TALK PROMPT #1 Consider pausing the video and giving students the opportunity to talk to an elbow partner for a few minutes or use these questions as part of a class discussion. Pause the video after Anita Bathe ends her report, @ 07:21: 1. How difficult was it for you to watch the arrest and moments before the killing of George Floyd? 2. Why was Floyd’s death a flashpoint for protests across the United States and around the world? 3. What does the level of violence by some protesters tell you about the emotional state of many Americans when it comes to police brutality?

George Floyd: Why He Matters curio.ca/newsinreview / 7 TALK PROMPT #2 Play the video until the end. 1. What was President Donald Trump’s reaction to the killing of George Floyd? Why were people frustrated with the way he dealt with the killing and the ensuing protests? 2. How was Trump’s phone call to Floyd’s family symbolic of the way the U.S. has handled systemic racism as a social evil? (Hint: What did Philonese Floyd say happened when he tried to speak to Trump?) 3. Describe ’s perspective on the killing of George Floyd. 4. How did some of Trump’s rivals and a few of his allies respond to his leadership during the period of protests? 5. Was Washington Mayor ’s decision to rename part of a prominent downtown street Black Lives Matter Plaza simply symbolic or part of the movement that will bring about drastic (and desperately needed) social change? Explain your answer.

George Floyd: Why He Matters curio.ca/newsinreview / 8 THE STORY

curio.ca/newsinreview / 9 GEORGE FLOYD: WHY HE What happened? MATTERS On May 25, 2020, It couldn’t be ignored. George George Floyd was Floyd was killed when police arrested outside of used excessive force to a Minneapolis, restrain him. They disregarded Minnesota, grocery his pleas for relief. With an store for allegedly officer’s knee pressed against using a counterfeit his neck for an inhumane $20 bill to make a Philonise Floyd shares stories about growing up with his brother George at memorial service length of time, Floyd stopped purchase. The breathing and died. A video of arrest seemed to be routine Chauvin kneeling on the back the incident was shared and a until Floyd was pinned to the of his neck. Prone and firestorm of protest ensued. ground by police – wrists vulnerable on his stomach, handcuffed, an officer holding Floyd repeatedly said, “I can’t his legs, another restraining breathe.” His pleas were his back and Officer Derek ignored – as were the pleas of

George Floyd: Why He Matters curio.ca/newsinreview / 10 bystanders – and, close to most demonstrations were 200 U.S. cities took to the eight minutes after being peaceful, others turned streets to show their outrage, restrained, Chauvin finally violent, with one group of demonstrate against police lifted his knee off Floyd’s neck. protesters burning down the brutality and throw their By this time, George Floyd police precinct where the support behind the Black Lives wasn’t breathing and arresting officers were Matter movement. Between paramedics could not find a stationed. No one was hurt in 15 and 26 million Americans pulse. He was pronounced the incident, but the station dead after medical personnel was razed to the ground. Black Lives Matter is believed at a nearby hospital failed to by many to be the largest civil A few days later, protests revive him. rights movement in U.S. across the United States were history. Check out this New Protests across the U.S. staged after widespread York Times article: The day after the killing, circulation of a video of www.nytimes.com/interactive protesters took to the streets Floyd’s arrest and death /2020/07/03/us/george-floyd- in Minneapolis-St. Paul. While circulated on the internet. protests-crowd-size.html People in over

George Floyd: Why He Matters curio.ca/newsinreview / 11 participated in protests in the demonstrations against essentially a reworking of three months after the death of systemic racism and racial huge police budgets to allow Floyd. The overwhelming injustice. In Canada, nearly funding for programs and majority of protests remained every major city hosted some initiatives that help remove peaceful, but the few that did kind of protest. The killing of the obstacles that stand in the turn violent led to the arrest of George Floyd suddenly became way of racialized groups thousands and the deployment a flashpoint that highlighted (namely Black, Indigenous and of the National Guard in many the problem of police brutality, people of colour – BIPOC). The cities. the need for social justice and protests also forced the presence of anti-Black racism Global support people in power to around the world. Eventually the protests went acknowledge that paying lip international, with over 60 Meaningful action service to anti-Black racism countries staging mass With their voices now being had run its course and that heard, the Black Lives Matter immediate and meaningful movement called for the action needed to be taken. defunding of police –

George Floyd: Why He Matters curio.ca/newsinreview / 12 TO CONSIDER 1. Why did the killing of George Floyd inspire protests around the world? 2. What needs to change if society hopes to bring an end to racism and police brutality?

George Floyd: Why He Matters curio.ca/newsinreview / 13 ACTIVITY: We’re running out of time! TASK In a poignant and powerful piece written for 1. Follow this link to the James article: the Toronto Star entitled “Disrespected, www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/0 disenfranchised, diminished and 8/28/disrespected-disenfranchised-diminished-a dehumanized, Black people will one day run nd-dehumanized-black-people-will-one- day-run-out-of-patience-and-then-we-will-run-o out of patience. And then we will run out of ut-of-time.html time,” Royson James succinctly describes 2. Identify the “three strikes” (George Floyd, the need for society to come to terms with Masai Ujiri and Jacob Blake) that James uses to racism NOW. He lays out his case by show how bad things have become for Black demonstrating that, if systemic racism is not people. eliminated, society will descend into chaos. 3. Conduct further research into the incidents that make up one of the three strikes. Write a 200-400 word report that tells the story of how systemic racism is evident in the “strike” you selected.

George Floyd: Why He Matters curio.ca/newsinreview / 14 SOURCES

Canadians hold protests, vigils for Black lives lost at the hands of police. (June 5, 2020). CBC News. Retrieved from: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadian-floyd-anti-racism-rallies-1.5599792. Cheung, H. (June 8, 2020). George Floyd death: Why U.S. protests are so powerful this time. BBC News. Retrieved from: www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52969905. Cuddy, A. (June 5, 2020) George Floyd: Five pieces of context to understand the protests. BBC News. Retrieved from: www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52904593. From Eric Garner to George Floyd: Recent U.S. police killings of Black people. (June 1, 2020). CBC News. Retrieved from: www.cbc.ca/news/world/police-killings-recent-history-george-floyd-1.5593768. James, R. (August 28, 2020). Disrespected, disenfranchised, diminished and dehumanized, Black people will one day run out of patience. And then we will run out of time. Toronto Star. Retrieved from: www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/08/28/disrespected-disenfranchised-diminished-and-dehumanized-black-people-will-one-day-run-out- of-patience-and-then-we-will-run-out-of-time.html. Singh, I. (July 23, 2020). 2020 already a particularly deadly year for people killed in police encounters, CBC research shows. CBC News. Retrieved from: https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/fatalpoliceencounters/. Strickland, A. (August 31, 2020). Former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin was never afraid to go to space. But a police stop made him sweat. CNN. Retrieved from: www.cnn.com/2020/08/31/us/leland-melvin-nasa-astronaut-scn-trnd/index.html. Xiong, C. (June 4, 2020). A timeline of events leading to George Floyd’s death as outlined in charging documents. StarTribune. Retrieved from: www.startribune.com/a-timeline-of-events-leading-to-george-floyd-s-death-as-outlined-in-charging-documents/570999132/?refresh=true.

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