Full title - George Floyd: Victim of America’s Love of Single-Story Labeling. On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd was physically restrained by four officers, in an altercation that resulted in his death. His crime: buying cigarettes with a fake $20 bill (Hill). He joins the many other black men and women killed by police brutality. During the incident, captured on video, Floyd repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe as officer Derek Chauvin kneeled over him for over eight minutes (Hill). Floyd’s death has inspired protests all over the world calling for the arrest of all officers guilty of police brutality and an end to the unnecessary deaths of black people at the hands of mostly white officers. Floyd’s violent death exemplifies the tragic effects that occur because of American society’s reliance on labeling based on a single-story. The concept of a single-story, popularized by Chimamanda Adichie, occurs when a group’s only exposure to general society is unrepresentative of the group as a whole (Adichie). In Adichie’s experience, she faced the single-story phenomenon when she moved to the United States from Nigeria, where people were shocked she grew up speaking English and with access to a stove, among other things. The single-story phenomena is omnipresent, affecting groups all over the world and throughout history, due to the fact that often there is only enough space in the conversation for an unrepresentative version of the full story. How is the single-story chosen? In the media, the stories that are told are those told by the loudest voices. Those with the power are directly responsible for what story is told, and how it is expressed. They often distinguish an 'other' and demonize them using words with negative connotations such as 'wrong', 'evil', or 'uneducated', persuading the audience of the other’s guilt. This type of single-story is often associated with colonization and the racial conflicts that characterize United States’ history. This incredible sway over the single-story can just as easily be used the other way, to improve the fragmented view of a person or group. In the United States, however, this long-term power dynamic has enabled police brutality and the systematic oppression of people of color to continue for far too long, resulting in the deaths of thousands. As of June 30th, 598 people have been killed by the police in 2020 alone (Mapping). These people, guilty or innocent, were not given the fair trial promised in the Constitution, instead faced their arresting officer, who served as judge, jury, and executioner. Many of these fatal altercations occurred because the officer approached the situation with aggression instead of caution. When thinking based on appearance, information allegedly connecting them to a crime, and their behavior, the officer(s) present judged the suspect as a danger. When labeling the suspect as a danger, the officers themselves were guilty of forgetting said suspect was a person. A short, biased observation was taken and used to define the person as a threat, sparking retaliatory action. The problem is when this observation remains, and that threat is on the ground bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds, or in the chokehold and no longer breathing, or physically restrained beneath a grown man for so long oxygen stops entering the brain. These victims, who were alleged criminals, were killed when officers forgot they were human, or simply didn’t bother to remember. This person, an amalgamation of opinions, experiences, and labels, is simplified to the point of dehumanization because of prejudiced instinct. It is no secret people of color in America are still seen by many as petty criminals, dangerous people, or even less than their white counterparts. These beliefs are based on and fueled by the single-story phenomenon. People who may otherwise be incredibly kind and caring have only heard horrible things about people of color, leading them to incorrectly believe all fit the dangerous stereotype described above. Considering many people still believe black Americans are reckless and dangerous, it is easy to see why they are killed at a rate three times that of white Americans (Mapping). The harm these labels cause are clearly visible when looking at how crimes are portrayed differently based on the race of the assailant. While not in the case of every crime and not perpetuated by every source of information, differences are sadly common. When discussing Caucasian assailants, the topic of mental illness is often the focus of the conversation, used to excuse and sometimes even justify the crime. If the same crime were committed by a person of color, the assailant's criminal record and previous altercations with police are capitalized upon. Both have committed the same crime, but one is characterized as a victim while the other is painted as a repeat offender looking for trouble. This single-story trend is not even broken by death. Shortly after George Floyd’s death made national headlines, news broke of his previous criminal record. Floyd was charged with armed robbery in 2007 and served a five year sentence (White). The officer who killed him, Derek Chauvin, has a record of his own, which was released by the Minneapolis Police Department about nine days after Floyd’s death, only after protests called for it. Chauvin was part of seventeen internal affairs investigations in nineteen years of service and he shot the suspect in three separate shootings, though he was only disciplined once (Minneapolis). All four officers involved in Floyd’s death were charged, making his family one of the few that received justice. It is true generations of societal missteps resulted in Floyd’s death. While it will forever be remembered as a tragedy, Floyd’s passing has already inspired thousands around the world to speak out against these issues and advocate for change. People are fighting for equal treatment of black Americans, justice for all victims of police brutality, and legislation that will one day make this unnecessary violence a thing of the past. Floyd has become somewhat of a symbol in this fight for change, and his name will be remembered for years to come. Works Cited Adichie, Chimamanda. “The dangers of a single story.” YouTube, uploaded by TED, 7 October 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg&t=14s Hill, Evan, et al. “How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 June 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html. Mapping Police Violence, 30 June 2020, mappingpoliceviolence.org/. “Minneapolis Police Release Derek Chauvin's Personnel Records, Offering a Few More Details.” The Mercury News, The Mercury News, 3 June 2020, www.mercurynews.com/2020/06/03/minneapolis-police-release-chauvins-personnel-records-offering-few-more-details/. Olivarez, Jose. “Mexican-American Disambiguation.” YouTube, uploaded by notacult.media, 9 February 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyjepSsTDX4 White, Debbie, and Niamh Cavanagh. “Who Is George Floyd and Why Was He Arrested in Minneapolis?” The US Sun, The Sun, 15 June 2020, www.the-sun.com/news/890639/who-george-floyd-why-arrested-minneapolis/. July 2020, 11th Grade
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