One year after the death of George Floyd: the US remains trapped in the racial debate

The United States commemorates this Tuesday the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, suffocated by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, with rallies throughout the country, but without having left behind the debate on race relations in a country whose motto is, paradoxically , “of many, one”. At least, on this occasion, it is about acts of homage, not looting or riots, like those that took place a year ago when the US experienced the worst racial tensions since 1968, with dozens of deaths, and Donald Trump placed at the gates of Washington to the 82nd Airborne Division, a veteran of Normandy and Iraq, and the 10th Mountain Division, seasoned from Afghanistan.

The anniversary comes as public opinion, the political class and the business elite each remain trapped in their contradictions on racial matters.. And, although the relations between whites – 67% of the population – and blacks – 13% – are the focus of the debate, the other minorities are also playing an increasingly influential role, as revealed by the Anti-Crime Law for Covid-19, approved last week, which criminalizes attacks against the Asian community linked to the pandemic. Because, since the coronavirus arrived, a part of the American public opinion (and we are not talking only about whites) has decided that the fault of the pandemic lies with the Asians who live in the country.

Politically, the situation is complicated.. The Joe Biden government is like an ARCO facility, holding steady with as much diversity as possible. The vice president, Kamala Harris, is a woman and African-American or Indian-American, depending on the political needs of the moment.. An African-American, Lloyd Austin, ousted the post of Secretary of Defense from a white woman, Michèle Flournoy, at the last minute, and the president endangered his party's slim majority in Congress by choosing three congressmen for his government: Marcia Fudge (female, African-American), Cedric Richmond (male, African-American), and Deb Haaland (female, indigenous, and the first person from that community to hold a position in a presidential cabinet in US history).

Meanwhile, the Republican Party is, more and more, the political formation of whites, with which racial polarization, far from having ended, continues as virulent as before, although, at least, it remains 'sotto voce'. And while allegations – in many cases with video – of police brutality continue, there are fears that law enforcement is simply pulling back to avoid legal trouble.. In 2020, the number of homicides grew a mind-boggling 33% in large cities in the United States. The causes of this brutal increase are not clear, but, for many, it is inevitable not to consider at least the possibility that the police do not want trouble.. In addition, some cities, such as New York, have dismantled part of their law enforcement, precisely to avoid their alleged racism.

The division is evident in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which is advancing through Congress at a snail's pace.. Biden's goal, which was for Congress to vote for him on Tuesday, is unattainable, due to the disagreement between Democrats and Republicans over the civil liability of police officers.

Even so, Democrats can be satisfied with the march of that piece of legislation.. The initiative, promoted, among others, by Harris herself last year, slept the sleep of the just until Biden took advantage, with a remarkable sense of opportunity, of the news of the conviction of Derek Chauvin on April 24, to relaunch it.

'Inclusivity' has become the slogan of large companies, where it is now almost de rigueur to include women and racial minorities in positions of responsibility in which until recently they were conspicuous by their absence. In March, Jane Fraser became the CEO of Citigroup, and thus the first woman to lead one of the four big banks that dominate the US financial system.. The acronym 'ESG' ('Inclusivity', Social, Governance) has become the magic word when it comes to evaluating the management of companies, and the racial issue is included in it, although no one knows very well how that is reflected in practice.