In the 1,000 days since the murder of Black man George Floyd on May 25, 2020 in Minnesota, 618 Black folks have been shot and killed by U.S. police nationwide, according to an article published last week by The Daily Record, a Ohio-based daily newspaper and part of the USA Today Media Network.
On average, police in the United States shoot and kill more than 1,000 people every year. Although half of the people shot and killed by police are White, Black Americans are shot at a disproportionate rate. They account for roughly 14 percent of the U.S. population and are killed by police at more than twice the rate of White Americans, according to a recent report of The Washington Post.
"I have to think a lot of people wonder why this is still going on. What is the point? Quite simply, the problem of racial injustice is still huge," said the opinion piece.
"This is not to say that all who work in law enforcement are racist, but it suggests there is a deadly racial problem," it said.
This issue goes beyond policing. In health care, Black patients are assumed to have higher pain tolerance causing them to receive substandard care. Black Americans have a lower life expectancy, higher blood pressure and more instances of mental health strain such as anxiety, depression and stress due to living in a society that sees them as less than, according to the article.
"While holding a sign doesn't immediately fix the problem, that, along with working with organizations like the NAACP and getting involved in local government, helps to bring about a better, more equitable world for all who live in it," said the article.
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