8 Minutes and 46 Seconds

The amount of time that George Floyd was pinned down and unable to breathe.

The world has become a very different place in 2020. We have had the pandemic take countless lives and affect nearly everyone’s natural ways of life. And then we have the murder of George Floyd, which has ultimately led to a world-wide movement for Black Lives Matter.

On June 15th, Sky News released a one-hour documentary titled “8 Minutes and 46 Seconds”. At this point, I hadn’t seen the video of Minnesota’s police officer pinning George Floyd to the ground while he says more than a dozen times “I can’t breathe”.

The documentary highlighted the many problems that the black community has faced for far too long. The fight is not a political fight — It’s a fight for equality and human rights.

Several influential black people mentioned included: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Jackie Robinson, and many more.

The documentary by Sky News informs us about everything, including race and how change needs to be implemented, but the title at the end of the day is “8 Minutes and 46 Seconds”.

8 minutes and 46 seconds is sickening.

A black man was murdered by a white police officer who put his knee down on his neck for nearly 10 minutes.

If you set a timer on your phone for 8 minutes and 46 seconds and wait for it to go off, you will have experienced how long George Floyd went without being able to breathe.

In the video, there were several officers near the situation, just watching. People who recorded the inhumane acts were telling the officer to let him go because he wasn’t resisting arrest and told the officer he couldn’t breathe at least ten times.

George Floyd was a father to three kids and known as a “gentle giant”. His family has spoken up about his killing, and my thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Floyd family — especially his children he never got the chance to say goodbye to.

The problem is the officer didn’t want to listen. And that’s the problem. We need to listen when our black brothers and sisters are calling out for help. Their disproportionate discrimination and judgment have gone on for way too long. It’s time to be an ally.

I have read so many cases of injustice, but the recent and disheartening videos that have surfaced due to someone recorded with their cameras are painful to watch.

In recent years, numerous cases were brought to light — cases like Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. The unfortunate thing about all of these cruel acts of violence sparked little to no change. People were aware of the movements, but not many people took it to heart.

Finally, the world is taking the matter into its own hands, and everyone is speaking up on everything going on.

My hope is for the world to spend more time listening rather than focusing on all the distractions. We must listen to those asking for help. They need us more than ever, and we can’t tolerate injustice.

Black lives matter.