Bearing Witness: The Death of George Floyd

On May 25, 2020 a Black Minnesota man, George Floyd, was killed after a white police officer suffocated him while a group of officers looked on. Floyd, like so many Black people who have come before him, was stopped by the police while driving and would not make it home that night. Given the innate limitations of virtual instruction, we are currently examining what it would mean to create space for brave and supportive processing of events like this one in virtual classrooms. But even as we thoughtfully expand the tools we offer to meet this moment, we believe that⁠ learning, reflection, and action must begin immediately in our personal lives. Pausing to apprehend the gravity of Floyd’s death, the historical and contemporary political contexts in which it occurred, and the tools for self-care and resistance that are available to us is paramount. 

We invite you to explore the resources below as you process this tragedy and the broader histories of violence in which it is embedded:

• ”The Racist Roots of American Policing: From Slave Patrols to Traffic Stops”
  This piece from The Conversation explores the oft-neglected origins of modern American policing in antebellum-era slave patrols. 

• MappingPoliceViolence.com
  This resource addresses gaps in city-reported data to provide what is thought to be one of the most complete accounts of police killings in the United States. This data has been utilized by researchers at institutions including the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University.

• “When Police Brutality Has You Questioning Humanity and Social Media is Enough”
  Psychiatrist Dr. Imani J. Walker outlines a number of measures that people of color can take to promote their well being in the wake of police violence happening in our own communities and elsewhere.

• ”How to Raise a Black Son in America”
  This acclaimed TED talk by writer and academic Clint Smith explores the unique challenges inherent in Black parenting, as well as some of the broader implications of being Black in the United States.

• Between the World and Me
  Ta Nehisi-Coates’ acclaimed work blends memoir and searing criticism to give voice to the history and present reality of anti-Black racism in the United States, as well as a vision of what the future of this country could be.

• ”106 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice”
  Medium offers a list of actions that white people can take to counter anti-Black racism as it manifests in contexts ranging from city governments to one’s own interpersonal practices and approaches to childrearing.

• ”The Conversation We Must Have with Our White Children”
  Courtney E. Martin, author of The New Better Off: Reinventing the American Dream, offers concrete suggestions to parents about how to raise white children with an awareness of racism, and cultivate their sense of responsibility for challenging it within themselves and the world around them.

• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism
  Robin DiAngelo’s acclaimed book suggests tools and mental models that white people can use to unlearn racism and embrace new modes of engaging with people of color.

Facing History & Ourselves invites readers to read a letter from former Facing History CEO Roger Brooks about living in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.