I honestly would not have realized it was the “anniversary” of the death of George Floyd if it were not for journalists constantly asking me. This is not to dismiss Floyd’s death, which was a tragic public spectacle. It’s a recognition that there was little unique about his murder for those of us who have been paying attention to racism prior to last summer. For us, Floyd’s murder was the straw that broke the camel’s back, rather than a watershed moment. The difference last summer was that mainstream (white) attention was captured in part because of the excruciating video, and because lockdown meant there was little else to focus on. Today’s date has meaning to me because it is Africa Liberation Day, yet in terms of reflecting back after last summer, the most I can feel is numb. After all the hand wringing, black squares, and BLM statements the only thing that has changed is that we are in a worse position in terms of race relations in the UK than we were a year and a day ago.
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