To watch a man struggle for nearly nine minutes, basically begging another man to spare his life, is quite possibly the most haunting thing to ever witness. This is what bystanders saw the day that George Floyd was killed, and this was the video of George Floyd that circulated the internet. The events following the death of George Floyd was beyond anything that had ever been seen. Protestors filled the streets of Minneapolis the following day, demanding that the officers involved be arrested. Peaceful protesters were met with the very force they were protesting against. Police violence, teargassing, pepper-spraying, and vehicles being driven through crowds. But in the midst of all of this, I think it was the first time in a long time that people across the country stood in solidarity, they came out in millions to rally to the cause of racial justice. 

The death of George Floyd was not an isolated incident, this was happening all the time, all across the country, and all over the world. The podcast introduces Don Ceder, a lawyer from Amsterdam. He speaks about seeing the images of George Floyd on Twitter for the first time. “I saw George there, but it could have been me. I saw my uncle. I saw my dad. I saw my cousin. And that kind of broke me.” I think that this was what resonated the most with people. Watching that video, seeing those photos, just hearing about it sparked something in people that made them realize that this could not be overlooked, something had to be done. The way Don Ceder spoke of racism in Amsterdam really caught me by surprise. I was lucky enough to spend some time there a few years back and it was such a beautiful city, everyone seemed open-minded and it really did feel like “the perfect multicultural society” as he stated. I guess it’s not always so simple and that’s why people don’t see how much the world is affected by it. He does mention that there was a press conference that was held where the prime minister acknowledged racism as being systemic, and I think that is the first step to move forward.

The one movement that comes to mind when thinking of global change is the Me Too movement. This started in the US as a movement focused on the experiences of sexual violence survivors over a decade ago and continues to progress on a global scale. Since becoming a social phenomenon a few years ago, there have been huge shifts in women’s rights, even in countries that have been known to routinely overlook the rights of women. Being South-Asian, I have heard countless stories of the systemic disadvantages of simply being a woman. One story that I read a few years ago that has stuck with me was that of a Pakistani law student who was brutally attacked for rejecting advances made by her classmate. Her attacker was acquitted by the court system, which was not uncommon. The #MeToo movement is what allowed her to launch a social media campaign, and ultimately helped her win her appeal. Through this movement, women around the world are coming together to empower each other and demand progress.