The life of George Floyd, revisited

George Floyd’s murder sparked massive protests for racial justice around the country. There were calls for police reforms, reparations and closing the racial wealth gap.

But five years later, it seems like the pendulum has swung back the other way. President Donald Trump is dismantling diversity and inclusion initiatives. And just this week, the Justice Department announced it was abandoning efforts to reshape law enforcement in cities where there have been high-profile killings by police officers.

In light of all of this, we wanted to share a special episode of “Post Reports” from fall 2020. It’s called “The Life of George Floyd.” Martine Powers and our colleagues here at The Post looked at who George Floyd actually was — and what his story can tell us about being Black in the United States.

Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon with help from Linah Mohammad. It was edited by Maggie Penman and Martine Powers.

“George Floyd’s America” was reported by Arelis Hernández, Tracy Jan, Laura Meckler, Toluse Olorunnipa, Robert Samuels, Griff Witte and Cleve Wootson.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.