On May 25, Minneapolis resident George Floyd was pinned face down on the ground, in handcuffs, by a white police officer who pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. He was unresponsive when paramedics arrived, and he was pronounced dead later.
Unrest has since erupted in Minneapolis, where protesters have set fire to buildings, and in several cities across the country. The police officer was fired and has been charged with third-degree murder. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment. Three other officers also have been fired.
What the US authorities need to do is to arrest all the officers at the scene of George Floyd murder and prosecute them alongside the one murderer,the one who knelt on George. This is the way forward. There is nothing else that can pacify the angry Americans who have continued to protest the killing of an innocent black man.
The looting and the destruction of property would not have happened if some racist white policemen had not murdered an innocent African American man. It is therefore save to say that the demonstrations are all an expressions of the anger of the American people, whites included.
The United States must work harder to eradicate every form of racial discrimination. If this is not done, the US will be sitting upon a time bomb that will eventually explode as we have continued to witness.
Only racial equality, justice and fairness, in addition to good brotherliness can usher in lasting and permanent peace in the United States and by extension, the rest of the world. For, it is certain that all men are created equal. Nature has constantly taught us that truth. We are all the same, black or white, Asian or Latino.
Yemi Olakitan
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