Where do we go from here?

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How many names of our brothers, sisters killed by the police must we recite? Would the name George Floyd do for them all? It would be a litany too long, as long as the shadow in the history of the nation. The grief goes deep and the rage does too. Where do we go from here?

These are the last words of George Floyd, a 46-year-old man who died as a US police officer pinned him down, kneeling on his neck for seven minutes, until he suffocated:

"It's my face man
I didn't do nothing serious man
please
please
please I can't breathe
please man
please somebody
please man
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
please
(inaudible)
man can't breathe, my face
just get up
I can't breathe
please (inaudible)
I can't breathe sh*t
I will
I can't move
mama
mama
I can't
my knee
my nuts
I'm through
I'm through
I'm claustrophobic
my stomach hurt
my neck hurts
everything hurts
some water or something
please
please
I can't breathe officer
don't kill me
they gon' kill me man
come on man
I cannot breathe
I cannot breathe
they gon' kill me
they gon' kill me
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
please sir
please
please
please I can't breathe"

Then his eyes shut and the pleas stop. George Floyd was pronounced dead shortly after.

 

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