Five years after Floyd: racism and its consequences in Germany

Five years after Floyd: racism and its consequences in Germany

Berlin, Deutschland - On May 24, 2025, people worldwide commemorate George Floyd's tragic death, which died five years earlier in May 2020 during a police operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His death, triggered by the pressure of a police officer with his knee on his neck, sparked a wave of protests and global horror. The iconic sentence "I Can’t Breathe!" became a symbol of resistance to police violence and racism. Despite the worldwide rising rice and global solidarity at the time, the Black-Lives-Matter movement is less visible in many areas today than at its weddings. RBB24 reports that more than 15,000 people went on the streets in Berlin in 2020 to protest for justice for George Floyd and against racism. Nevertheless, the discourse on racism and police violence has been dilated again in recent years.

Cihan Sinanoğlu, head of the national discrimination and racism monitor, expresses that despite the development of 89 measures to combat racism, progress towards a fairer society remains inadequate. Friedrich Wendt, historian, emphasizes that the Black-Lives-Matter movement in the United States has lost influence and has decreased by financial support. This is reinforced by a worrying development in the political landscape, in particular by the AfD, the discriminatory discourses.

The condition of the Black-Lives-Matter movement

The movements caused by Floyd's death have raised awareness of structural racism, but according to Kimberlé Clenshaw, an expert in structural racism, many hopes have not been fulfilled. Numerous demands remained unfulfilled, while support for "Black Lives Matter", according to a survey by the PEW Research Center, dropped from 67% to 52% in 2020. A draft law for police reform, which was developed according to Floyd's killing, failed in the Congress under President Biden. Historian Yohuru Williams also noted that little progress was made. The decline in support can also be seen in the pessimistic assessment of the relationships between the police and the black population: 54% of the respondents believe that nothing has changed, and a third sees a deterioration. Deutschlandfunk

In 2024, according to the “Mapping Police Violence” project, at least 1,260 people died in police operations in the USA, which is the highest number in the past ten years, with a disproportionate number of victims among the African -American population. Statistics show that the risk of dying from police violence as an African American is almost three times as high as in white. The structural disadvantage of African Americans is also evident in higher unemployment and disproportionate mortality, especially during Corona pandemic, where 70% of deaths can be found in African-American citizens, even though they only make up 13% of the population. Rnd

The future of the struggle against racism

The murder of Walter Lübcke and racist attacks in Halle and Hanau contributed to mobilizing the protests in Germany. Nevertheless, Sinanoğlu shows that the effort against racism must be continued. Activist Tahir Della emphasizes that racist prejudices are often anchored in childhood. The Black-Lives-Matter movement undoubtedly raised awareness of these topics, but the struggle remains and requires continuous use.