His Name Is George Floyd: One Mans Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice (Large Print)

Description

FINALIST FOR THE 2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION, LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE, J. ANTHONY LUKAS PRIZE A landmark biography by two prizewinning Washington Post reporters that reveals how systemic racism shaped George Floyds life and legacy-from his familys roots in the tobacco fields of North Carolina, to ongoing inequality in housing, education, health care, criminal justice, and policing-telling the story of how one mans tragic experience brought about a global movement for change. It is a testament to the power of His Name Is George Floyd that the books most vital moments come not after Floyds death, but in its intimate, unvarnished and scrupulous account of his life . . . Impressive. -New York Times Book Review (Editors Choice) Since we know George Floyds death with tragic clarity, we must know Floyds America-and life-with tragic clarity. Essential for our times. -Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist A much-needed portrait of the life, times, and martyrdom of George Floyd, a chronicle of the racial awakening sparked by his brutal and untimely death, and an essential work of history I hope everyone will read. -Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author of The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song The events of that day are now tragically familiar: on May 25, 2020, George Floyd became the latest Black person to die at the hands of the police, murdered outside of a Minneapolis convenience store by white officer Derek Chauvin. The video recording of his death set off the largest protest movement in the history of the United States, awakening millions to the pervasiveness of racial injustice. But long before his face was painted onto countless murals and his name became synonymous with civil rights, Floyd was a father, partner, athlete, and friend who constantly strove for a better life. His Name Is George Floyd tells the story of a beloved figure from Houstons housing projects as he faced the stifling systemic pressures that come with being a Black man in America. Placing his narrative within the context of the countrys enduring legacy of institutional racism, this deeply reported account examines Floyds family roots in slavery and sharecropping, the segregation of his schools, the overpolicing of his community amid a wave of mass incarceration, and the callous disregard toward his struggle with addiction-putting todays inequality into uniquely human terms. Drawing upon hundreds of interviews with Floyds closest friends and family, his elementary school teachers and varsity coaches, civil rights icons, and those in the highest seats of political power, Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa offer a poignant and moving exploration of George Floyds America, revealing how a man who simply wanted to breathe ended up touching the world.