8 minutes and 46 seconds that changed the world.

As I sit here writing this blog I am watching the first memorial for George Floyd and although this post is not solely about George; the last 8 minutes and 46 seconds of his life I believe that this became the 8 minutes and 46 seconds that changed the world.

On the 25th May 2020 during the most significant time of my life as Covid-19 impacted the world as a whole, an interaction between four Minneapolis police officers and an unarmed 46 year old black man led to George Floyd losing his life.

From the facts that are known at the time of writing this, George Floyd was arrested for buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill and 17 minutes after the police were called George was showing no signs of life under an officers knee. This was captured on a smart phone and instantly spread across the globe sparking outrage, as the video showed an unarmed man beg for a breath and cry out for his deceased mother.

The events that transpired included protests, that developed into riots and looting by individual groups after the stalling of charges brought against Chauvin which eventually came on the 29th May. Furthermore, the three police officers who were present at the scene and stood by as George took his last breath while failing to act have now been arrested and charged.

After unprecedented support on petition websites with over 13 million signatures for #justiceforgeorgefloyd, the charges for Chauvin were increased from third-degree murder to second-degree murder.

Now this blog isn’t going to dive into the legal questions surrounding this case or George Floyds character, that seems to be part of some sort of conversation or justification for his murder.

I wanted to write about my feelings during this time, although it may not be asked for or wanted. As it is so significant I wanted to express how I feel as a white, 22 year-old student living in Ireland.

Northern Ireland is a small part of an even smaller island in comparison to the incomprehensibly massive United States of America. Some may believe that it does not have the same issues that can be seen in images of fire and looting shot onto our televisions, while sitting in the big city of Newry. However, Racism and discrimination has been the building blocks for all societies big or small and this continues to seep through the progressive efforts of the many.

If you are from Northern Ireland you are very familiar with the effects of the troubles and how sectarianism has impacted my parents and so many people’s lives here. However, this is not the only form of discrimination that rests on the island of Ireland, as the aim to end sectarianism has left many communities feeling forgotten.

Northern Ireland according to The Guardian had 1,062 reports of racist activity in comparison to 938 sectarian incidents during the same period in 2017. This is not a race or a battle between racism or sectarianism but it aims to highlight the significance of the problem of both. More statistics from amnesty.org showed that in 2017, a third of 18-24 year olds would not accept a Muslim as a neighbour in their local area and the percentage increases as the age follows.

These issues of racism are on a relatively lower scale in comparison to the USA, but are still prevalent in Northern Ireland and are not addressed by the seemingly incoherent NI Executive. This can be seen with the request from the Equality Commissions Racial Equality Policy report in 2014 to address racial violence. Yet in 2017 statistics showed that many issues were not resolved and a lack of measures such as no training for the PSNI in dealing with racial incidents,highlights the lack of urgency from the Executive and the Department of Justice.

Further tension is increased due to the introduction of the new Immigration System from the UK Government under Boris Johnson. With no route into the UK for EU or non-EEA citizens who are categorised as “un-skilled” workers from 2021. I have put un-skilled in quotation marks as this includes care-workers who are more important than ever during this global pandemic, with 55% of care-workers who have died from COVID-19 being from the BAME community.

In honour of both George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, on the 3rd June and a further peaceful protests on the 6th June is set to take place in Belfast. Now many have argued that All Lives Matter and this is true, however Black Lives Matter is not a movement to make black people more important than any other race. It is a cry for equality… not equality of outcome that many find intimidating, but rather equality of treatment and opportunity.

This is where I strongly believe that arguing against black lives matter just raises the question of why? Black people are coming from a place of historical and societal inequality that continues today. Where a black person is twice as likely to die in custody than their white counterparts.

It is not seeking to force white people to apologise for the actions of other white people in the past, but rather that we should recognise their actions and help fight against the inherited discrimination and prejudice that still affects those in the BAME community today.

As Dr Martin Luther King Jr wrote in a letter from Birmingham Jail on the 16th April 1963, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.".

This should answer the question of why people here on the small island of Ireland are protesting about the death of George Floyd to the hands of those who swore to protect him.

We must recognise the failures of the past in order to succeed in the future.

If you have made it this far thank you for taking the time to read this.

By Jack McClelland