“I can’t move
Mama mama
I’m through
I can’t breathe officer
Don’t kill me
They gonna kill me
Please sir
Please
I can’t breathe”
These were some of the last words of 46-year-old George Floyd. “They gonna kill me,” a choking Mr. Floyd managed to eke out, and he was dead right.
Of the thousands of social media posts circulating around Mr. Floyd’s death on Monday in Minneapolis, none packed the punch of this Instagram of Derek Chauvin, the police officer, left hand in pocket, kneeling on Floyd’s neck juxtaposed with a picture of former NFL star, Colin Kaepernick, taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem. Above the image of Chauvin is the word “This” and floating over Kaepernick are the words “Is Why.” For what it’s worth, this image finally delivered the full brunt of Kaepernick’s career-ending protest.