Race in Trump's America: One step forth and two steps back

Five years after George Floyd was killed, race relations are worse

- NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON

On the afternoon of 25 May 2020, George Floyd was choked to death on a Minneapolis street by a police officer. The brutal act, captured on video by a teenager, sparked a wave of multiracial protests for social justice and police reform. It also became a flashpoint in US politics and culture, ushering in a brief and backlash-ready period that galvanized millions to push for racial progress. Caucasians began to have rare and overdue conversations about the status of African Americans. Companies complied with the new zeitgeist and dropped racially stereotypical brand names like Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, made bandages for other complexions and expanded diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. California formed a task force to study reparations. Buildings, schools and roads were renamed. Statues came down.

This was peak 'woke,' an old term that gained widespread usage around the protests. Five years later, 72% of Americans say the period of 'racial reckoning' didn't lead to changes that improved the lives of African-Americans, according to a Pew Research Center poll. Not only that, framing America's intractable social problems around race is increasingly politically risky.