Everything the Media Didn’t Tell You About the Death of George Floyd

The trial of Derek Chauvin is not an open-and-shut-case

Jury selection has begun in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin. Chauvin is one of the officers who has been accused of murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis last Memorial Day. On one level, the trial is a local crime story, one of many unfolding right now. But of course, it’s also incalculably more than that.

The death of George Floyd changed the United States, profoundly and forever. George Floyd, we were told, wasn’t simply an individual. He was every African-American in this country. Derek Chauvin wasn’t just a cop. He was the physical embodiment of America’s institutions. We were told that when Chauvin murdered George Floyd, he was doing to one man what our country has done to all African- Americans. Many people told us this, including Joe Biden: