George Floyd and the history of police brutality in America - BBC My World

In the US, an African American dies at the hands of the police every 40 hours (Source: Brookings Institute). Young black men are more than twice as likely to be killed by police than young white men. But why are so many African Americans killed in police custody?

George Floyd was a 46-year-old unarmed man who died after being arrested by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. A video of the arrest, which shows a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on his neck, quickly went viral online. #BlackLivesMatter protests have erupted around the world.

In this video, BBC reporter Celestina Olulode explains what happened to George Floyd, why it is so important and how a shameful history of racism has led to to so many deaths.

If you want to know more about the history of school segregation and black voting rights (briefly mentioned in this film) see this excellent BBC guide for schools:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides...
Please note that if you are outside the UK, you will be unable to play the videos, but there is still loads of great information to access.

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