Who Was George Floyd; and What Was His Significance?

  George Floyd was a black American man killed during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after allegedly using counterfeit money to buy cigarettes. Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes as he lay handcuffed on the ground. After his death, protests against police violence toward black people quickly spread across the United States and internationally. Destruction of property in cities across America, looting, and gang theft are all left in the wake of the Floyd killing.

  Floyd played football and basketball throughout high school and college. He held several jobs, and he was also a hip-hop artist and a mentor in his religious community. Between 1997 and 2005, he was sentenced to prison eight times (drug possession, theft, and trespassing); in 2009, he accepted a plea bargain for a 2007 armed robbery, serving four years in prison. The conviction of 2009 condemned him to five years in prison, but he was paroled after serving four years in the lock-up.  In 2014, he moved to the Minneapolis area, finding work as a truck driver and a bouncer in a bar. In 2020, he lost his security job during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  After Floyd's release from prison, he became involved with Resurrection Houston, a Christian church and ministry, where he mentored young men. He helped his mother recuperate after a stroke. He delivered meals and assisted on other projects with Angel By Nature Foundation, a charity founded by rapper “The 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.

  It is obvious from the above account that Floyd was a complicated person, being involved in charitable activities at times and chronic, habitual, crime, violence and armed robbery at other times. His behavior has caused courts to commit him to prison several times because he has been dangerous to the American citizenry. Several family members and friends remember him as a “gentle giant,” always ready to help people in difficulty whenever he could. He died a death he did not deserve for his last crime, e.g., allegedly passing counterfeit money to buy cigarettes. Since his death, more than $25 million has been raised by GoFundMe for the support of his wife and family and to pay for his funeral. Nevertheless, I could find no evidence on the internet that he had been living with the children he fathered or the woman to whom he had supposedly been married. There seems to be no evidence that he was paying child support money.

 Whatever his legacy may include, it seems inappropriate that his memory should be emblazoned in glory and honor for an exemplary life. I find no such honor having been paid for the memory of any police officer killed in the line of duty for attempting to maintain law and order on the streets.

 Whatever George Floyd’s legacy may be, it seems to me that he was an icon of inspiration to those who were looking for some excuse for violence and mayhem in society. I do not think that his memory deserves to be used to justify widespread violence and destruction.