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A year has passed since the brutal murder of George Floyd by the police. A year of countless protests, endless talks about inclusion and anti-racism, and millions holding their breath while watching the trial of Floyd’s murderer. Numerous Black Americans have been killed by police in the past, so why does it seem that Floyd’s death has brought about a particularly intense public response?
Some observers have pointed to the impact of social media and the pandemic, but little was said about the critical role of humiliation in this case. Yet no training in the world, not even “defunding the police,” is likely to bring systemic change if we do not understand how the dynamic of humiliation severely harms communities of color and what must be done to fight it.