Black mom left fearing for her 8 year-old son's life after George Floyd's death

A terrified black mother says she fears for her eight year-old son’s life in the wake of George Floyd’s horrific death. Georgina Dukes, 29, from Durham, North Carolina, said she is scared her son, Romeo, could be met with unprovoked violence and brutality as he grows up just because of the color of his skin.

Mother-of-one, Georgina, has pleaded for society not to ‘fear’ Romeo and other young black boys or men and says acceptance is the only way to stop more needless death. She has made an emotional plea to ‘non-black moms’, urging them to ‘raise your kids not to fear mine’.

Georgina said: ‘I am scared for my son’s life. Right now he is a cute kid but there is a certain time in a young black man’s life when that changes and they go to being seen as a threat.

‘I am excited to see him grow up but I can’t celebrate that growth like a mom of a non-black child because when his voice changes and he gets taller, people will feel threatened because he’s a little darker.

‘I do think people are more afraid of young black men than non-black men. It’s a stigma and is something that people are afraid to talk about.

‘I have already started having talks with Romeo about how he can protect himself but I feel like no matter what I do, I can’t protect my baby from society.

‘It scares me to death. I should not need to feel like I need to try to protect my son because of the color of my skin.

‘I hope all mothers of non-black kids can raise their children to not fear mine. As parents we can make positive changes together.’

Georgina is speaking out following the heartbreaking death of unarmed an George Floyd, 46, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday. Horrifying video footage shows Floyd gasping for air whilst in police custody as he’s pinned down by the neck by police officers, before dying minutes later.

Reacting to Floyd’s death, network director, Georgina said: ‘It was absolutely devastating. My heart dropped and I felt so angry.

‘Once again I found myself asking how has this happened and how is this ok? How many more times will this happen before things changes.

‘I am so disappointed at how people of color are treated in this country. It’s the sad truth that some people look at the amount of melanin in a person’s skin and see that as a threat or a reason to be scared.’

Georgina added: ‘Romeo is a smart kid and is at the top of his class. He loves Marvel and his hero is Spiderman. He is an amazing human being and I want him to be treated that way.

‘I want him to feel proud of the color of his skin and I just want him to live a safe and happy life without having to worry about all of this stuff.

‘It scares the crap out of me. No mother should have to feel like this.’

Footage shot on a mobile phone of Floyd’s arrest shows him lying face down in the street, gasping for air and pleading ‘I can’t breathe’ while the officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.

The clip of the incident shows a white officer kneeling on his neck as he cries out in pain. He says: ‘I can’t breathe. Please, I need my neck, I can’t breathe, shit.’

The video, shot by Darnella Frazier, then shows one of the officers saying: ‘Get up and get in the car.’ Mr Floyd says: ‘I can’t…my neck, I’m through. My stomach hurts, my neck hurts, everything hurts.’

Witnesses told police to let him get up and an officer can be heard saying ‘this is why you don’t do drugs, kids’. After four minutes, Mr Floyd goes limp with the officer’s knee still on his neck.

Flody was taken to hospital by ambulance after the incident, where he was declared dead. The city identified the four officers involved as Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng. All four have been fired, with prosecutors currently investigating possible criminal charges.

Hours after the dismissals were announced, protesters filled the streets around the scene of the killing to take part in a peaceful rally. Many in the crowd wore facial coverings to protect against spread of the coronavirus.

But these protests soon turned into chaos and violent riots broke out across the country in response to Floyd’s death at the hands of a white police officer. Mass rioting and looting has broken out in a number of US cities including Los Angeles, New York, Denver and Louisville.