A Year After George Floyd's Death: What Progress Has Been Made In Ending Systemic Racism

Just over a year ago, hardly anybody knew the name ‘George Floyd’. After his horrific murder in US police custody, his name was being shouted by thousands of protestors around the world. A year since his death, a lot seems to have happened, but has enough been done to end systemic racism?

The official response to Floyd’s death was more significant than the previous numerous deaths of people of colour in police custody. The officer who was responsible for his death, Derek Chauvin, lost his job and was taken to trial for his actions. There was fear that Chauvin would be acquitted due to previous acquittals and mistrials in police brutality cases. This time, justice prevailed and Chauvin was found guilty of murder. 

Even though Derek Chauvin was acquitted, the conversations discussing racism and inequality weren't  confined to the result of this trial. Black Lives Matter activists called for change to systemic racism within policing, education and much more. 

The US was the hub of the Black Lives Matter protests. There were widespread calls for radical change to prevent police brutality and other racist acts committed by the authorities. The calls for change were poignant enough for President Biden to comment, “My fellow Americans, we have to come together to rebuild the trust between law enforcement and the people they serve and root out systemic racism in our criminal justice system and enact police reform in George Floyd’s name.”

Many want to see specific action being taken to deal with the issue. The idea of defunding the police became popular. This involves transferring money from the police department's budget to other organizations that can offer better support. For example, mental health services, education and jobs. 

While George Floyd wasn’t murdered in the UK, his death shone a new light on the racism within UK policing. British protestors reminded the country that the UK isn’t innocent. There has been a response from the authorities. UK police say they are working on change by building better relationships with ethnic minority communities. Part of this initiative is to hire more officers from diverse backgrounds. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also had something to say, "There are very serious issues that our society faces to do with racism that we need to address, we’ve got to do more to fix it."

Once again, many have asked for more specific change. For example, the renaming of some streets and schools that have names connected to the slave trade. There has been a push for better education too. That means the curriculum being made more diverse, so everyone learns about the history of Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups in the same way they are taught about white people. 

Progress is slow and there is backlash and resistance coming from white supremacists. A year later after a murder that shook the world, minorities are still being killed during interactions with the police. Only a few cases are able to make the headlines.