Kids Study African American Life with George Floyd Story

Parents at Towson Middle School in the greater Baltimore area, working with English teacher Patricia from their school, which has no summer session, have created a spiral bound biography of George Flynn. The parents have been allowed to use the school cafeteria for their George Floyd sessions with the kids.

“There’s everything you need to know about a black man’s life in this story. Well, George was never going to be a stockbroker or a scientist. But there are other aspects of a black man’s life we can focus on. He can be a shining example as well as a horrible warning. He had turned his life around until this coronavirus took all his income as a bouncer.”

Boys will be able to focus on the things they can do, such as walking around and some light horsing around. But never run through your neighborhood while black. That just leaves basketball for the more active kids, and they do have a skate park in the district.

Group member Mario, 12, asks whether he can look at butterflies with binoculars. That is not a smart idea, so he will just have to sit in the meadow he found and draw the butterflies. In fact, black boys should not be carrying any black object, whether phone or binocular, as it looks like a gun. Phones should have pink covers just at the ones of the girls have. Or at least white.

Group member Jimmy asked about parkour. No, no jumping over fences and climbing up walls.

The book follows George from the freshman year at school onward. George attended Jack Yates high school in the Houston area and played football and basketball. Coach Walker says he was a well-behaved athlete.

George’s daughter had to see him killed on TV and his three-year old granddaughter never met him. Family relationships in black communities will be discussed. George as a truck driver will be presented as a role model.

George served five years for an armed robbery, so the spiral bound book will have a short chapter on what it is like to be in prison as a black man.

The African American teens in the group can now look at life as an opportunity, just like George did. At least until your turn 40 and none of those dreams work out. From that point on they will be living paycheck to paycheck just like George did.