They Stole His Breath; We Carry His Legacy
We march because he couldn’t. We speak because he was silenced. He would have turned 52 years old today.
George Perry Floyd Jr.
George Perry Floyd Jr. was born on this day in 1973 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. His friends called him Perry and he played basketball and football in high school. He moved to Minneapolis at 43, looking for a fresh start. He had a six-year-old daughter named Gianna who loved her daddy.
On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds. George said “I can’t breathe” over and over until he couldn’t say anything at all. A 17-year-old girl named Darnella Frazier kept filming despite being told to stop. Her courage gave the world proof of what Black communities have always known.
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What followed were the largest racial justice protests in American history. Twenty-six million people in over 2,000 cities. Black Lives Matter: founded in 2013 by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, became a global movement. George’s daughter told President Biden: “Daddy changed the world.”
She was right. But five years later, here’s what the numbers tell us: Police killed over 1,200 people in 2024, more than any year in the past decade. Black Americans are still killed by police at 2.5 times the rate of others. Officers are charged with a crime in less than 1% of these cases.
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would have banned chokeholds and created a national police misconduct registry. It passed the House twice and died in the Senate both times. President Biden’s limited police reforms? Trump revoked them his first day back in office. And for the federal database tracking police misconduct, Trump dismantled it January 20th.
Since January, the pattern continues with different uniforms. ICE has made over 32,000 arrests, more than all of 2024. In Chicago, an ICE agent shot and killed 38-year-old father Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez during a traffic stop. A federal judge ruled ICE agents have “repeatedly violated the law by making warrantless arrests.” This is a different agency with the same type of dangerous and threatening brutality.
George Floyd should be here today. Instead, we mark another year where justice came only because 26 million people demanded it.
We remember George Floyd not only for how he died, but for what his death awakened. It forced millions to confront a truth too long ignored by those with privilege, that equality written on paper means nothing if it isn’t lived in practice. Every protest, every camera held steady, every voice that refuses to go quiet keeps that promise alive. Change is slow, uneven, and often painful, but it begins the same way it always has: with people who care enough to act. Justice is not inevitable. It’s built name by name and life by life, until the world we live in finally matches the one we were promised.
They Paid In. He Cashed Out.
The “beautiful bill” that trades your lifetime of work for billionaire tax breaks and calls it “fIsCaL ReSpOnSiBiLiTy.”
In July, Trump signed what he called “one big, beautiful bill.” The Congressional Budget Office calculated it differently: a $3.4 trillion increase to the deficit. That triggered automatic cuts of $536 billion from Medicare over nine years, starting next year, after the midterms.
Think about the mechanics of this... They knew these cuts would happen and they did it anyway. Tax cuts for people who already have more money than they could spend in TEN lifetimes, paid for by cutting healthcare for seniors who paid into the system their whole working lives.
The bill also terminates Medicare coverage for legal immigrants who worked and paid Medicare taxes in America for decades. People who came here legally, who worked, who paid in and are now being told: “We’re keeping your tax money, but you don’t get the benefits.” Absolute BS.
Speaker Mike Johnson promised in January: “We will not cut Social Security and Medicare.” By May, House Republicans passed bills doing exactly that. The Republican Study Committee’s budget would cut Social Security benefits for 257 million Americans which is three out of every four people in this country.
This fight is as old as Social Security itself. When it was created in 1935, opponents called it socialism and instead, it became the bedrock American promised that if you work your whole life, you won’t spend your old age in poverty. Medicare extended that promise in 1965. For 90 years, that promise held and now they’re trying to break it.
In six days, on October 18th, we gather at every state capital and in Washington, D.C. We gather for so many different reasons. We gather because we are fighting fascism. We gather because we are fighting the oligarchy. We gather to stand up to ICE. We gather because George Floyd deserved to live. We gather because your grandparents deserves the Medicare that they paid for. We gather because justice isn’t a gift from the powerful and wealthy, it’s supposed to be a promise kept by the people for the people.
Comment if you will be wearing yellow, purple, an inflatable, or a handmaid’s tale costume. What statement will you be making this Saturday?
There is no wrong answer, only inspiration!
Yesterday was Day 1 of our 50501 challenge countdown to October 18th, if you’re not sure what we are referencing, check out the end of this post: Mike Johnson Called Us Hateful. Meet the Portland Frog.
Today is Day 2: Paint your profile picture yellow. Change it to a No Kings symbol. Post flyers. Add your city name. Use #NoKingsDay and #50501Movement. Track how many platforms you reach.
Here are the pictures we recommend you to change your profile picture to across social media if you haven’t already:
Wednesday: Tag politicians, celebrities, and influencers.
Thursday: Take it offline with printed flyers.
Friday: The final push.
Saturday: Show up.
For the FULL 5 day 50501, grow the protest challenge, click here and scroll to the end of the post. (There is even a print-out to track your progress!)
When they call this a “hate rally,” remember what we’re actually doing. We are doing so much more. We are trying to progress, not go backwards. We are fighting for basic rights. Remember that today is George Floyd’s birthday. We’re honoring George Floyd’s memory by demanding the justice system he never got. We’re protecting the Medicare our parents paid for. We’re saying no one is above the law and no one is beneath it.
George Floyd’s daughter, Gianna Floyd, was right. Her daddy did change the world.
A tribute to,
George Floyd.
Thank you for reading and supporting independent journalism.
With Gratitude,
Blue with the 50501 movement
I will be dressed as the Cookie Monster carrying an "Eat the Rich" sign in Atlanta GA & handing out Architects of Evil cookies that will have my homemade trading cards in them. First in the series: Trump, Miller & Vought.🍪
My friends and I are wearing Groucho Marks glasses - our (N)ICE disguise/mask.