Five years ago, we witnessed George Floyd being slowly murdered in broad daylight by a Minneapolis police officer. Handcuffed, face down, and calling out, “I can’t breathe,” Floyd was crushed under the weight of a cop’s knee for over nine minutes, while his accomplices stood by and did nothing.
That horrific murder ignited a wave of protest. Millions took to the streets in one of the largest uprisings in U.S. history, demanding an end to racist police violence. For a moment, it felt like the country had been forced to see what so many experience every day: that this system will use lethal force to maintain its power, especially against Black people, poor people, and anyone who dares to resist.
But what has changed since?
In the wake of Floyd’s murder, corporations promised billions to support Black lives. Politicians called for hearings, task forces, and police reforms. Some laws passed, some training programs began, and slogans were painted on the streets. But the violence never stopped. And those in power quickly moved on.
In the five years since George Floyd was murdered, U.S. police have killed more than 6,000 people. That includes 1,136 in 2021, 1,203 in 2022, 1,248 in 2023, and 1,260 in 2024, the deadliest year in over a decade. So far in 2025, police have already killed at least 461 people. That’s an average of more than three people killed by police every single day for five years straight. Beyond killings, recent reports show police use force on someone roughly every 90 seconds in this country. This is not a system that’s broken. It’s one doing exactly what it was built to do: control, intimidate, and eliminate threats.
While politicians spoke the language of reform, the state got back to business. Under both Trump and Biden, police departments remained funded and protected, killings continued unchecked, and grassroots movements were more or less pacified with symbolic gestures.
Now, in the current political environment, we’re seeing efforts not just to forget Floyd’s murder, but to reverse the little response to it. Police repression has intensified, while at the same time we’re witnessing full-blown attacks on working-class people across the board, from cuts to social services to escalated violence against immigrants. The most vulnerable are being pushed deeper into precarious positions. The need to fight back is greater than ever, not with appeals to those in power, but through organized resistance from below.
Five years ago, millions stood up and said enough. That energy hasn’t disappeared. It’s still there, waiting to be organized into a fighting force of working-class people, capable of confronting and dismantling the system that relies on violence to keep us divided and exploited.
