Over 30,000 National Guard soldiers were sent across 30 different states to help calm civil unrest during the protests of the brutal killing of George Floyd. This is most soldiers that have been deployed since the Civil Rights Era. These protests were in response to the release of a video that showed a White police officer holding a Black man, George Floyd, to the ground, with his knee. During this video, Floyd stated, repeatedly, that he could not breathe. But the officer continued to hold his knee to Floyd’s neck and instead of doing his duty to help and protect Americans, killed of our own because of his own racist prejudices. The public and more importantly, the African American community went into an outrage, and let their voices be heard through nationwide protests. This event marks a clear point of racial injustice and police brutality, and was the catalyst of the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM). Perhaps, this event also struck such a cord with people because it represented the struggle of African American people: suppression from the White man.
