George W. Bush on Floyd’s Death, Unrest in US: This Is the Time for US to ‘Examine Our Tragic Failures’

Former President 👤George W. Bush is speaking out about the protests — both peaceful and violent — that have broken out across the U.S. over the past week as demonstrators are demanding justice for 👤George Floyd.

Floyd died while in Minneapolis police custody after he had his neck pinned down by an officer’s knee for eight minutes and forty six seconds. Protestors have taken to several cities across the country over racial inequality.

In responding to the death of Floyd, Bush called on the country to unify.

In a statement, Bush wrote that he and former First Lady Laura Bush “are anguished by the brutal suffocation of 👤George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country.”

He continued, “Yet we have resisted the urge to speak out, because this is not the time for us to lecture. It is time for us to listen.”

“It is time for America to examine our tragic failures — and as we do, we will also see some of our redeeming strengths.”

“How do we end systematic racism in our society?” the former president asked, adding, “The only way to see ourselves in a true light is to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and grieving. Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America — or how it becomes a better place.”