The deadly 9 minutes and 29 seconds (an adjustment by prosecutors from the initially reported 8 minutes and 46 seconds) in which George Floyd, an African-American man, was subdued under the oppressive weight of a Caucasian police officer’s knee on a Minneapolis street on May 25, 2020, was quickly etched into the nation’s consciousness. No more than two weeks later, moments of silence mirroring the length of Floyd’s ordeal were held at the New York Stock Exchange, within the U.S Congress, and at public vigils throughout Britain.
By the time the calendar turned to July 2020, an estimated 26 million Americans had communicated their outrage at over 4,700 public demonstrations. Great Britain also saw its citizens join in solidarity, with major gatherings stretching from Bristol to Birmingham to Belfast, in numbers surpassing even the ‘Rock Against Racism’ movements of the 1970s. Protests in support of racial justice also took place in about 93 countries across the globe.
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) uprising was not just notable for its sheer scale. It was the intensity and unity of the response that made it a global talking point. But that wave of public outrage and solidarity seemed to dissipate nearly as quickly as it swelled. As we cast our gaze back five years on, what lasting impact has George Floyd’s tragic death had on the U.S. and the UK? Did the BLM demonstrations simply mark a phase, or did they ignite a lasting movement that drove significant reform?
Evaluating the achievements of BLM activists in America presents a paradoxical reality. Their efforts appear to have inadvertently resulted in outcomes diametrically opposed to their initial goals. Sociologist Mathis Ebbinghaus, a junior research fellow at Oxford University, studied this phenomenon by analyzing police budget data between 2018 and 2021 across 264 major U.S. cities.
Based on a comprehensive database compiled by the Washington Post, it was found that American police officers have caused over 1,000 annual fatalities on average since 2015 – with African-American citizens falling victim at over double the rate of their white counterparts. In fact, fatal police shootings reached an all-time high in 2024, with 1,173 documented cases.
The United Kingdom’s efforts towards police reform, inspired by the tragedy of George Floyd and longstanding tension between the police and Black communities, have seen somewhat more manageable objectives but only slightly more fruitful results. In May 2022, the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing introduced a strategy known as the Police Race Action Plan (PRAP).
Nonetheless, three years on, PRAP’s results have been received with widespread dissatisfaction, despite some statistical signs of progress: an increase in disciplinary actions for discriminatory conduct, a decreasing trend in stop-and-search practices, especially involving Black individuals, and a rising percentage of Black police officers. However, a general sense of disillusionment prevails amongst those on the Left who view these reforms as a squandered opportunity for more meaningful change.
Corporations’ efforts to show their support for racial justice reached a high point, with recent trends revealing some backlash. Consequent to Floyd’s death, organizations had collectively pledged over $340 billion towards combating racial inequality via diversity and inclusion targets, specially assigned staff, and new training protocols. Yet, these changes weren’t received positively by all employees.
By 2024, indicators suggested a notable slowdown in the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) thrust, evidenced by a double attrition rate for jobs in the sector in comparison to other occupational roles. The implications of this decline were not universally welcomed, revealing a complex landscape of continually emerging challenges and responses.
A far more accessible response to the death of George Floyd in Britain was found not through formal reports, but through the immediate and accessible power of social media. Millions chose to demonstrate their solidarity with the struggle for racial justice by posting black squares on their social media properties on a day in June 2020 globally known as Blackout Tuesday.
But still, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the BLM movement has suffered significant reversals in multiple field – from politics to police reform, corporate boardrooms to educational institutes – all of which have seen considerable resistance. The controversies surrounding ‘critical race theory’, an often misunderstood analytical framework for viewing systemic racism, sparked substantial tensions particularly in the U.S. education system.
And yet, hope remains alive at the community level – in local activism, in self-help initiatives, in the vibrancy of youth engagement. The real legacy might not be reflected in governmental actions, but within communities and local movements continually advocating for justice.
At BLM’s core are enduring themes – justice, safety, human dignity – and while the road to progress can often be non-linear and fraught with delay, these concepts still resonate and demand attention. The fight is still being waged and progress, though not always immediate, continues to develop.
To provide a final perspective: the determination of a man’s lasting influence frequently takes more time than the cruelly brief lifespan of an act that extinguishes it. The movement sparked by George Floyd’s death continues to forge ahead, and its impact, while debatable on certain fronts, remains interwoven into the fabric of the social justice narrative.