As protests spring up across the country and around the world in response to the video of George Floyd’s murder, there seems to be some confusion about why this moment, this death at the hands of police, has sparked so much outrage. And if it were an isolated incident, that would make sense. But Black death at the hands of the state is unfortunately at least as American as apple pie. Throughout our lives, Black Americans are dehumanized, treated as unequal, deemed less valuable by the systems that purport to be for all people. Black life is so utterly disregarded that many Americans seem to have normalized the idea that someone deserves to die for possibly using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. Or being asleep in their own home, as Breonna Taylor was when police killed her in March. Or coming from an impoverished community. Or not having the resources financially or physically to survive a natural disaster or a pandemic. Today, we’re talking about America failing to keep its promises to itself about being the land of the free by examining once again this awful legacy of racism and brutality in policing. Sadly, this is just one example of America failing its own people. Black Americans are more likely to be unemployed, and those who do have jobs earn less than their white peers and are more likely to work in jobs only now deemed “essential” that expose them to serious health risks. Black Americans are dying from COVID-19 at disproportionate rates, but even before the pandemic hit, our health outcomes were not good: we have the highest maternal mortality rates and are more likely to have diabetes and high blood pressure. We also have a poverty rate more than double that of white Americans.