Americas
![undefined - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_undefined.jpg)
![Robert SamuelsToluse Olorunnipa - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_robert_samuelstoluse_olorunnipa.jpg)
His Name Is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice
FINALIST FOR THE 2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION
A landmark biography by two prizewinning Washington Post reporters that reveals how systemic racism shaped George Floyd's life and legacy-from his family's roots in the tobacco fields of North Carolina, to ongoing inequality in housing, education, health care, criminal justice, and policing-telling the story of how one man's tragic experience brought about a global movement for change.
"It is a testament to the power of His Name Is George Floyd that the book's most vital moments come not after Floyd's death, but in its intimate, unvarnished and scrupulous account of his life . . . Impressive."
-New York Times Book Review
"Since we know George Floyd's death with tragic clarity, we must know Floyd's America-and life-with tragic clarity. Essential for our times."
-Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist
"A much-needed portrait of the life, times, and martyrdom of George Floyd, a chronicle of the racial awakening sparked by his brutal and untimely death, and an essential work of history I hope everyone will read."
-Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author of The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song
The events of that day are now tragically familiar: on May 25, 2020, George Floyd became the latest Black person to die at the hands of the police, murdered outside of a Minneapolis convenience store by white officer Derek Chauvin. The video recording of his death set off the largest protest movement in the history of the United States, awakening millions to the pervasiveness of racial injustice. But long before his face was painted onto countless murals and his name became synonymous with civil rights, Floyd was a father, partner, athlete, and friend who constantly strove for a better life.
His Name Is George Floyd tells the story of a beloved figure from Houston's housing projects as he faced the stifling systemic pressures that come with being a Black man in America. Placing his narrative within the context of the country's enduring legacy of institutional racism, this deeply reported account examines Floyd's family roots in slavery and sharecropping, the segregation of his schools, the overpolicing of his community amid a wave of mass incarceration, and the callous disregard toward his struggle with addiction-putting today's inequality into uniquely human terms. Drawing upon hundreds of interviews with Floyd's closest friends and family, his elementary school teachers and varsity coaches, civil rights icons, and those in the highest seats of political power, Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa offer a poignant and moving exploration of George Floyd's America, revealing how a man who simply wanted to breathe ended up touching the world.
A landmark biography by two prizewinning Washington Post reporters that reveals how systemic racism shaped George Floyd's life and legacy-from his family's roots in the tobacco fields of North Carolina, to ongoing inequality in housing, education, health care, criminal justice, and policing-telling the story of how one man's tragic experience brought about a global movement for change.
"It is a testament to the power of His Name Is George Floyd that the book's most vital moments come not after Floyd's death, but in its intimate, unvarnished and scrupulous account of his life . . . Impressive."
-New York Times Book Review
"Since we know George Floyd's death with tragic clarity, we must know Floyd's America-and life-with tragic clarity. Essential for our times."
-Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist
"A much-needed portrait of the life, times, and martyrdom of George Floyd, a chronicle of the racial awakening sparked by his brutal and untimely death, and an essential work of history I hope everyone will read."
-Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author of The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song
The events of that day are now tragically familiar: on May 25, 2020, George Floyd became the latest Black person to die at the hands of the police, murdered outside of a Minneapolis convenience store by white officer Derek Chauvin. The video recording of his death set off the largest protest movement in the history of the United States, awakening millions to the pervasiveness of racial injustice. But long before his face was painted onto countless murals and his name became synonymous with civil rights, Floyd was a father, partner, athlete, and friend who constantly strove for a better life.
His Name Is George Floyd tells the story of a beloved figure from Houston's housing projects as he faced the stifling systemic pressures that come with being a Black man in America. Placing his narrative within the context of the country's enduring legacy of institutional racism, this deeply reported account examines Floyd's family roots in slavery and sharecropping, the segregation of his schools, the overpolicing of his community amid a wave of mass incarceration, and the callous disregard toward his struggle with addiction-putting today's inequality into uniquely human terms. Drawing upon hundreds of interviews with Floyd's closest friends and family, his elementary school teachers and varsity coaches, civil rights icons, and those in the highest seats of political power, Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa offer a poignant and moving exploration of George Floyd's America, revealing how a man who simply wanted to breathe ended up touching the world.
Editorial Reviews
"It is a testament to the power of His Name Is George Floyd that the book's most vital moments come not after Floyd's death, but in its intimate, unvarnished and scrupulous account of his life . . . a brilliantly revealing portrait of the structures of poverty, land theft and racism that shaped not only Floyd but also his kinship networks in the South. . . . Impressive."
-New York Times, Editors' Choice
"[T]he definitive work on who Floyd was and what his murder triggered. Gripping, heartbreaking, revelatory."
-Oprah Daily
"[A]n expertly researched and excellent biography, a necessary and enlightening read for all."
-The Atlantic
"Masterful, thorough and even-handed."
-Associated Press
"A full, nuanced picture of the man whose murder sparked a movement."
-People
"Sometimes a single book can change a national discussion, and certainly this is one. With diligence, respect, unflinching courage, His Name Is George Floyd affords tender, trenchant testimony to a man's life and the lessons in the legacies of racism that took it."
-Barnes & Noble, Best Book of 2022
"An incredibly powerful biography."
-Walter Isaacson, Amanpour & Co.
"This is a profound book that everyone in this country needs to read."
-Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
"Sad, tragic, and such a good read."
-Yamiche Alcindor, PBS Washington Week
"A feat of fresh reporting, and vivid, contextual contemporary history."
-Chicago Tribune
"Detailed, vivid and moving."
-The Washington Post
"Impeccably researched . . . Interwoven with the biographical details are incisive sketches of the po...
-New York Times, Editors' Choice
"[T]he definitive work on who Floyd was and what his murder triggered. Gripping, heartbreaking, revelatory."
-Oprah Daily
"[A]n expertly researched and excellent biography, a necessary and enlightening read for all."
-The Atlantic
"Masterful, thorough and even-handed."
-Associated Press
"A full, nuanced picture of the man whose murder sparked a movement."
-People
"Sometimes a single book can change a national discussion, and certainly this is one. With diligence, respect, unflinching courage, His Name Is George Floyd affords tender, trenchant testimony to a man's life and the lessons in the legacies of racism that took it."
-Barnes & Noble, Best Book of 2022
"An incredibly powerful biography."
-Walter Isaacson, Amanpour & Co.
"This is a profound book that everyone in this country needs to read."
-Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
"Sad, tragic, and such a good read."
-Yamiche Alcindor, PBS Washington Week
"A feat of fresh reporting, and vivid, contextual contemporary history."
-Chicago Tribune
"Detailed, vivid and moving."
-The Washington Post
"Impeccably researched . . . Interwoven with the biographical details are incisive sketches of the po...
Readers Top Reviews
J. V. Mead
Heard about this on a television show. My son is grateful to have it.
R. Fahrer J. V.
We all think we know George Floyd, as his life and missteps got bandied about in the news, and in our conversations in the aftermath of his death. This book is an in depth portrait of the man behind the icon: imperfect, kind, rarely at home in his body or space, creative, deeply human, loved. It also reads like a case study on the American experience where structural racism, the aftereffects on the War on Drugs and the War on Poverty worked on the Floyd family and on Big Floyd's existence. Will be pressing this into the hands of everyone I know. Even if you think you know the story, I guarantee there are parts of this book that will take you by surprise, and cause you to reckon with our history and present.
tblainR. Fahrer
I have read this book, and have recommended it to many. It's an important story, especially for those of us in the majority who need to listen more, and learn more.
James E.tblainR.
A sad true-life story of our times. A well written book that puts George's life into perspective. The catch, of course, is what should each of us (including all the other Georges) do to reduce the odds of more such tragedies.
J.L. AskewS. J. L
George Floyd’s story is a tragedy, and his death has become iconic, a marker of our times. In an age of limitless videos, the images of his final moments have been seen by millions. The book by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa is a complete account of Floyd’s life and how he met his untimely end. The title, “His Name is George Floyd”, is taken from the chant activists shouted in the massive protests following his death. Subtitled “One Man’s Life and The Struggle for Racial Justice”, the book is much more than a biography. The first words in the book are “I love you”, a phrase Floyd often spoke before parting from family or friends. Floyd was a loving person throughout his life and when confined along with millions by the Covid lockdown, he made frequent calls to connect with those close to him. Expressions of love continued to the very end of his life where “Floyd repeatedly found his dreams diminished, deferred, and derailed – in no small part because of the color of his skin.” This is the premise of the book, that being Black was the main determinant in Floyd’s life. Guided by this theme, the authors tell of Floyd’s forty-six years leading up to the “nine minutes and 29 seconds he spent gasping for air”, as he died and of the “historic movement for civil rights that followed.” The authors’ stated hope was to put Floyd in context with his world, “never absolving him of responsibility or making excuses for his actions.” This is key because on his final day Floyd was “smoking weed, snorting powdered fentanyl and taking Tylenol.” The book covers at length the external forces affecting Floyd, from the legacy of slavery to his life as a Black man in America. The book is comprehensive, giving the history of racial disparities in both Houston, where Floyd grew up, and of Minneapolis, where he died. The authors delve into the ancestry of major players, especially contrasting Floyd’s roots with those of Derek Chauvin, the police officer who killed him. The resulting portrait is painted as “white privilege” enjoyed by Chauvin’s ancestors as opposed to the oppression experienced by Floyd’s forebears. While the book lists multiple reasons for Floyd’s downward trajectory, a single sentence about his final year in high school is key. “Like Floyd, many of the young men had grown up without fathers.” This factor has proven to be the single greatest influence on a youngster’s life. But the book looks elsewhere for explanations, making a catalogue of atrocities committed against Blacks since emancipation. After what seems like an endless stream of negativity, a positive story emerges, surprisingly just before he dies, centered on Floyd’s longstanding belief that God was watching over him. In Texas after his mother’s death in 2018, he, a girlfriend and her uncle were on an impromptu road trip between Houston and Louisiana late at night wh...
Short Excerpt Teaser
Chapter 1
An Ordinary Day
"It's Memorial Day. Y'all wanna grill?"
George Perry Floyd Jr. wasn't particularly skilled at flipping burgers, but he was glad when his friend Sylvia Jackson suggested the diversion. The coronavirus pandemic had left him jobless and listless, a shadow of the gregarious man his friends and family once knew. He had been trying to avoid spending more time in the darkness, feeding the addiction he could not seem to escape.
Jackson's modest home in North Minneapolis served as a family-friendly refuge. In May 2020, Floyd would spend most days on her couch, watching iCarly and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with her three girls. Other times, he'd help her craft TikTok videos in hopes that one day they might go viral.
"Let's do this one," she'd say, before dancing in her kitchen to the music of Mariah Carey's "Fantasy." Floyd would stare at the camera with mock-seriousness.
They were often joined by two friends who had worked with them at the Salvation Army, a quarantine quartet meant to keep one another company as they waited for the world to go back to normal. Jackson, thirty-two, rolled her eyes as Floyd would go on about chopped-and-screwed music, the hip-hop genre that emerged from his Houston hometown. In the evening, Floyd would talk throughout whatever movie they were watching, then shower her with questions about the plot afterward. Her daughters loved camping, so they sometimes set up tents and slept under the stars. Other nights, they'd throw some hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and play music, which was the plan on May 25, 2020, the day George Floyd would die.
That day, Jackson had to work an eight-to-two shift as a security guard, so she tasked Floyd with picking up some lighter fluid and charcoal. She handed him the keys to her car, a 2001 navy-blue Mercedes-Benz SUV, and $60 to pay for supplies.
"I'll be back home around three," Jackson told him.
Jackson trusted Floyd; she had loaned him the car several times before. Floyd had no other plans, so he called his friend Maurice Hall around ten a.m. to see if he wanted to hang out. Many of Floyd's friends warned him about Hall, forty-two, who had been sleeping between hotels and his vehicle, dealing drugs while trying to avoid arrest warrants. Floyd had tried for years to move on from using, but Hall provided some kinship during this empty part of his life. The two men would smoke weed or ingest pills, which Floyd would chase down with Tylenol to dilute the impact.
This was not the life either had envisioned when they left Houston's Third Ward for Minneapolis, seeking sobriety and opportunity. Hall told Floyd that he felt he had exhausted his options. Outstanding warrants had driven him underground, and he didn't want to turn himself in to police-he was a father now, with freckled, curly-haired children, and he couldn't stomach the idea of being locked up far away from them. Floyd could empathize with Hall's predicament: he felt guilty being so far away from his young daughter, Gianna.
On the other end of the line, Hall told Floyd he had a day's worth of errands and suggested they complete his to-do list together. Hall was eager to jump into the Benz-he had been borrowing a friend's old truck ever since a woman he had hooked up with in his hotel room had driven off with his ride, taking his clothes, shoes, and video games with her.
Hall suggested that Floyd meet him at a LensCrafters at the Rosedale Commons shopping center off Interstate 35 in nearby Roseville. Floyd could then follow him back to his hotel to exchange vehicles.
"What do you mean I can't come in?" Floyd said to the sales representative when he arrived, turned away by the store's COVID-19 protocol.
Hall bought a pair of clear-framed glasses and then stepped outside, where he saw Floyd dressed in a dirty tank top and blue sweatpants.
"What up, gator?" Hall said, and the two shook hands.
It was close to noon by this point, so they stopped at a Wendy's across the street. Hall ordered a burger with onion rings; Floyd got a Dave's Double. After they carried the food to the Benz and unwrapped the sandwich...
An Ordinary Day
"It's Memorial Day. Y'all wanna grill?"
George Perry Floyd Jr. wasn't particularly skilled at flipping burgers, but he was glad when his friend Sylvia Jackson suggested the diversion. The coronavirus pandemic had left him jobless and listless, a shadow of the gregarious man his friends and family once knew. He had been trying to avoid spending more time in the darkness, feeding the addiction he could not seem to escape.
Jackson's modest home in North Minneapolis served as a family-friendly refuge. In May 2020, Floyd would spend most days on her couch, watching iCarly and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with her three girls. Other times, he'd help her craft TikTok videos in hopes that one day they might go viral.
"Let's do this one," she'd say, before dancing in her kitchen to the music of Mariah Carey's "Fantasy." Floyd would stare at the camera with mock-seriousness.
They were often joined by two friends who had worked with them at the Salvation Army, a quarantine quartet meant to keep one another company as they waited for the world to go back to normal. Jackson, thirty-two, rolled her eyes as Floyd would go on about chopped-and-screwed music, the hip-hop genre that emerged from his Houston hometown. In the evening, Floyd would talk throughout whatever movie they were watching, then shower her with questions about the plot afterward. Her daughters loved camping, so they sometimes set up tents and slept under the stars. Other nights, they'd throw some hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and play music, which was the plan on May 25, 2020, the day George Floyd would die.
That day, Jackson had to work an eight-to-two shift as a security guard, so she tasked Floyd with picking up some lighter fluid and charcoal. She handed him the keys to her car, a 2001 navy-blue Mercedes-Benz SUV, and $60 to pay for supplies.
"I'll be back home around three," Jackson told him.
Jackson trusted Floyd; she had loaned him the car several times before. Floyd had no other plans, so he called his friend Maurice Hall around ten a.m. to see if he wanted to hang out. Many of Floyd's friends warned him about Hall, forty-two, who had been sleeping between hotels and his vehicle, dealing drugs while trying to avoid arrest warrants. Floyd had tried for years to move on from using, but Hall provided some kinship during this empty part of his life. The two men would smoke weed or ingest pills, which Floyd would chase down with Tylenol to dilute the impact.
This was not the life either had envisioned when they left Houston's Third Ward for Minneapolis, seeking sobriety and opportunity. Hall told Floyd that he felt he had exhausted his options. Outstanding warrants had driven him underground, and he didn't want to turn himself in to police-he was a father now, with freckled, curly-haired children, and he couldn't stomach the idea of being locked up far away from them. Floyd could empathize with Hall's predicament: he felt guilty being so far away from his young daughter, Gianna.
On the other end of the line, Hall told Floyd he had a day's worth of errands and suggested they complete his to-do list together. Hall was eager to jump into the Benz-he had been borrowing a friend's old truck ever since a woman he had hooked up with in his hotel room had driven off with his ride, taking his clothes, shoes, and video games with her.
Hall suggested that Floyd meet him at a LensCrafters at the Rosedale Commons shopping center off Interstate 35 in nearby Roseville. Floyd could then follow him back to his hotel to exchange vehicles.
"What do you mean I can't come in?" Floyd said to the sales representative when he arrived, turned away by the store's COVID-19 protocol.
Hall bought a pair of clear-framed glasses and then stepped outside, where he saw Floyd dressed in a dirty tank top and blue sweatpants.
"What up, gator?" Hall said, and the two shook hands.
It was close to noon by this point, so they stopped at a Wendy's across the street. Hall ordered a burger with onion rings; Floyd got a Dave's Double. After they carried the food to the Benz and unwrapped the sandwich...
