Throughout our nations history, African American people have been treated as lessers in society and have been severely discriminated against. While we as a nation have done our best to eradicate this issue, it is still an injustice that is embedded in society as some people still do not respect African Americans equally. George Floyd was an African American man who was murdered by a white police officer for no apparent reason. This was a major event in society and sparked nationwide revolts and protests in support of African American people and their place within society. I remember having a conversation with a friend about how awesome we thought the statue of George Floyd in Manhattan was. This statue was made in remembrance of George Floyd and was a symbol for African American people. Recently, the statue was vandalized by a white man. This act of
violence is a clear example of a systemic injustice. This statue was doing no harm to anyone and 
was simply put up in support of George Floyd’s family and what his death stood for. Instead of tearing down symbols of equality like this, we need everyone to be in support of them and help spread the message that it sends. This type of action shows that society still has a long way to go for full equality of all people without any discrimination or implicit bias. This is a systemic injustice as these types of actions are deeply ingrained in society and there are still many people who don’t believe in the true equality of all and will try to bring others down. The vandalism of this statue is very upsetting and shows that there is still work to be done to eradicate systemic injustices like these. Overall, this is a systemic injustice that I have seen in my daily life and one that needs to be addressed and changed to improve the lives of certain groups of people and ensure that everyone is treated as equals within our society. This systemic injustice can relate to Simone de Beauvoir’s theory of othering. Her theory describes how different aspects of society like culture, politics, and economy are what create instances of inequality and lead to the “othering” of certain groups of people. This act against the George Floyd statue represents this theory as it shows how African Americans as a group are being completely “othered” by society. The white man who vandalized the statue is an example of someone othering African Americans as he didn’t accept what the statue stood for and felt the need to vandalize it out of pure discrimination and hate towards African American people.
Link to news articles about the vandalism:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/actor-charged-george-floyd-statue-vandalized-nyc-rcna4015
Citation:
“Actor Charged after George Floyd Statue Vandalized in NYC.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 28 Oct. 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/actor-charged-george-floyd-statue-vandalized-nyc-rcna4015.
NBC New York. “Manhattan Man Arrested in Latest George Floyd Statue Vandalism.” NBC New York, NBC New York, 25 Oct. 2021, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/manhattan-man-arrested-in-latest-george-floyd- statue-vandalism/3349613/.
Hi! Great work on your post! The systemic injustice example you choose is very special but representative. After being through so many things, the status of George Floyd now not only as a remembrance of George Floyd but also function as an alarm to remind people of the detrimental effects of racism. As lessers in society, black people were always being treated as “others”, and suffered discrimination from white people. Even though the majority of people realize the negative effects of racism and stand out for black people, discrimination like the example you presented would never stop. To alter the condition, every one of us has the responsibility to stand out and denounce racist behaviors like this. When anti-racism becomes a social norm, racism would gradually eliminate.