George Floyd
George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was a black American man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill, on May 25, 2020.[3] Derek Chauvin, one of four police officers who arrived on the scene, knelt on Floyd's neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, causing his death from a lack of oxygen.[4] After his murder, protests against police brutality, especially towards black people, quickly spread across the United States and globally. His dying words, "I can't breathe", became a rallying slogan.
This article is about the man murdered during a police arrest. For his murder, see Murder of George Floyd. For other uses, see George Floyd (disambiguation).
George Floyd
May 25, 2020 (aged 46)
Houston Memorial Gardens, Pearland, Texas, U.S.
- Truck driver
- security guard
Circumstances of his death
5
Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Floyd grew up in Houston, Texas, playing football and basketball throughout high school and college. Between 1997 and 2005, he was convicted of eight crimes. He served four years in prison after accepting a plea bargain for a 2007 aggravated robbery in a home invasion.[5] After he was paroled in 2013, he served as a mentor in his religious community and posted anti-violence videos to social media.[6][7][8][9] In 2014, he moved to the Minneapolis area, residing in the nearby suburb of St. Louis Park, and worked as a truck driver and bouncer. In 2020, he lost his job as a truck driver, and then his security job during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following his death, the City of Minneapolis settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Floyd's family for $27 million. Chauvin was convicted on two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter on April 20, 2021,[10] and on June 25, 2021, was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.[11] The other three officers at the scene were also later convicted of violating Floyd's civil rights.[12]
Early life and education
Floyd was born on October 14, 1973, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to George Perry (1949–2002) and Larcenia "Cissy" Jones Floyd (1947–2018).[8][13] He had four siblings.[14][15][16]
When he was two, after Floyd's parents separated, his mother moved with the children to the Cuney Homes public housing,[6][17][18] known as the Bricks, in Houston's Third Ward, a historically African-American neighborhood.[8][13][6] Floyd was called Perry as a child, but also Big Floyd; being over six feet (183 cm) tall in middle school, he saw sports as a vehicle for improving his life.[6]
Floyd attended Ryan Middle School,[19] and graduated from Yates High School in 1993. While at Yates, he was co-captain of the basketball team playing as a power forward. He was also on the football team as a tight end, and in 1992, his team went to the Texas state championships.[8][15][6][17]
The first of his siblings to go to college, Floyd attended South Florida Community College for two years on a football scholarship, and also played on the basketball team.[6][20][21] He transferred to Texas A&M University–Kingsville in 1995, where he also played basketball before dropping out.[22][23][24] Floyd became a friend of future NBA player Stephen Jackson, who was referred to as his "twin" because of their strong resemblance to one another, after being introduced in the mid-1990s.[25][26] At his tallest he was 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm)[27][15][28] and by the time of his autopsy he was 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm) tall and weighed 223 pounds (101 kg).[29]
Adult life
Post-college
Floyd returned to Houston from college in Kingsville, Texas, in 1995 where he became an automotive customizer and played club basketball.[22][30] Beginning in 1994, he performed as a rapper using the stage name Big Floyd in the hip-hop group Screwed Up Click.[31][32][33][34] The New York Times described his deep-voiced rhymes as "purposeful", delivered in a slow-motion clip about "'choppin' blades' – driving cars with oversize rims – and his Third Ward pride."[6] The second rap group he was involved in was "Presidential Playas" and he worked on their album Block Party released in 2000.[35][36]
Personal life
Floyd was the oldest of five siblings and had five children, including two daughters (aged 6 and 22 at the time of his murder) and an adult son.[139][140][141][142][143] He also had two grandchildren.[13][14]
In August 2017, Floyd met his girlfriend Courteney Ross in Minneapolis. In early 2020, the two separated.[48]