I can't breathe facts for kids

I can't breathe is a slogan tied to the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. The phrase comes from the last words of Eric Garner. He was an unarmed black man who was killed in 2014 after being put in a chokehold by New York City police officers.

A number of other black men and women said the phrase. That included George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man in Minneapolis, Minnesota who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer. The officer had his knee on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes.

The words I can't breathe have become a protest chant.

Floyd told Minneapolis police officers he couldn't breathe more than 20 times.

Images for kids

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  Justice for All March/National March Against Police Violence, Washington, D.C., December 2014

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  Berlin, Massachusetts, December 2014

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  Speakers at a December 2014 march in Washington, D.C.

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  A protester holds a sign saying "I Can't Breathe Momma," at a Black Lives Matter Rally in Dumfries, Virginia. "I Can't Breathe Mama," was one of the last words said by George Floyd while he was being murdered.

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  Minneapolis, May 28, 2020