George Floyd was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and raised in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas. He attended Yates High School, where he played on the basketball and football teams. He attended South Florida Community College from 1993 to 1995 and played on the school's basketball team. Floyd returned to Houston and entered the local hip hop scene as an automotive customizer; he joined the hip hop group Screwed Up Click and rapped under the stage name Big Floyd. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Floyd was charged with armed robbery in 2007, and in 2009 took a plea deal to be sentenced to five years' imprisonment. In 2014, Floyd moved to Minnesota in search of employment and a new life. He took on two jobs: working as a truck driver and as a restaurant security guard at Conga Latin Bistro. He worked at the restaurant for five years, but lost the job because of Minnesota's stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was described as a "gentle giant" by friends and family.

On 25 May 2020, in Powderhorn, a neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, he was handcuffed and made to lie face down on a city street during an arrest. A Minneapolis police officer kept his knee on Floyd's neck for more than 9 minutes, nearly 3 minutes of which was after Floyd had become unresponsive. Other police officers held Floyd's back and legs. Floyd was then taken by ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. In April 2021 the former police officer who had kept his knee on Floyd's neck was convicted of Floyd's murder.

The events of 25 May 2020 led to dramatic protests across the USA and in other parts of the world, many of which were organised under the banner of Black Lives Matter, a global network building power to bring justice, healing, and freedom to black people across the globe. The protests called not only for immediate justice for George Floyd, but also for long term, fundamental social and political systemic change to end racial prejudice and injustice.

• Bio courtesy of: Wikipedia
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