VOA慢速英语--弗洛伊德死后一年，美国黑人的痛苦仍历历在目

One year ago, the arrest of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota led to Floyd's death and brought new attention to police methods in America.

One of the officers involved in the arrest, Derek Chauvin, was found guilty of murder after a trial in April. A 17-year-old girl was among those who recorded video of Chauvin pressing his knee on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes.

The images angered people around the country. Many of them took to the streets of cities during the summer to protest the way police in America treat Black people. Some of the protests turned violent.

A series of protests took place about one week after the incident in a park across the street from the White House in Washington, D.C.

The treatment of Black people by police became an important part of the U.S. presidential campaign. Joe Biden won the election against former president Donald Trump¹.

Later, Biden called Chauvin's treatment of Floyd "murder in the full light of day," and "a stain on our nation's soul." Biden has been speaking with Floyd's family regularly over the last year. He invited Floyd's family to the White House for a meeting on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, Biden said he wanted to be able to announce a new law on May 25. The law, called the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, is supposed to permit police to be charged with crimes if they do something bad while doing their work.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the law in March. It has not been approved by the U.S. Senate.

Legal experts say the girl's video was the reason the jury found Chauvin guilty of murder. While it was important evidence in the trial, the video continues to make Black people upset.

Sheila Holden is an African-American mother of two who lives in Maryland. She said she feels pain every time she sees the video of Chauvin holding Floyd on the ground with his knee.

"Seeing one person take the life of another is something I had never seen," Holden said.

Bruce Brandon used to work as a bus driver in Washington, D.C. He called the video "heartbreaking."

He and his family joined the protests last year.

"Taking part in the racial justice demonstrations² gave us an outlet³ to express our outrage⁴ over the amount of police brutality⁵ against African-Americans," he said.

Allissa Findley is the sister of Botham Jean, a black man who was killed by a white police officer in Dallas, Texas in 2018. The officer, who was not working at the time, went into Jean's apartment by mistake and shot him, thinking he was trying to steal from her. She was sent to prison for 10 years.

Findley told the Reuters news agency seeing the video of Floyd is "traumatizing all over again."

One expert said seeing the images of Black people being hurt by police can increase the pain.

Mary Frances Winters runs a business that works with companies in an effort to create better work environments for people of different backgrounds. She wrote a book called Black Fatigue⁷, about the health problems that come from racism⁸.

She said all of the problems in society create "psychological and physiological⁹ ailments¹¹."

Researchers from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences agree. In a study, they found that the mental health of Black Americans is worse in the days following highly-publicized violent acts against Black people.

The leader of a Black religious center in Atlanta told CNN television news that he thought "all of Black America is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder¹²."

A mental health expert called it "toxic¹³ stress" and said the constant worry Black people feel can affect future generations.

Winters said the U.S should start to place more attention on the mental health of African-Americans. She said it is not easy to "bounce back" from years of racism.

"We have to challenge that idea," she said.

Words in This Story

stain –n. a mark that is hard to remove

outrage –n. extreme anger : a strong feeling of unhappiness because of something bad, hurtful, or morally wrong

brutality –n. cruel, harsh, and usually violent treatment of another person

trauma⁶ –n. a very difficult or unpleasant experience that causes someone to have mental or emotional problems usually for a long time

ailment¹⁰ –n. a sickness or illness

stress –n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc.

toxic –adj. containing poisonous substances; poisonous

bounce back –v. to return quickly to a normal condition after a difficult situation or event

challenge –v. to dispute something; to question something

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

4 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

5 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

6 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

7 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

8 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

9 physiological   

adj.生理学的，生理学上的

参考例句：

• He bought a physiological book.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• Every individual has a physiological requirement for each nutrient.每个人对每种营养成分都有一种生理上的需要。

10 ailment   

n.疾病，小病

参考例句：

• I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
• He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。

11 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

12 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

13 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。