Spike Lee released a short film showcasing police brutality with clips of the deaths of George Floyd and Eric Garner along with footage from his 1989, Oscar-nominated film “Do the Right Thing.”
Titled “Will History Stop Repeating Itself?,” Lee posted the video on his Twitter account by saying, “3 Brothers-Radio Raheem, Eric Garner And George Floyd.” The video originally debuted on CNN. Talking to Don Lemon Lee stated, “We are seeing this again and again and again. This is the thing, the killing of black bodies, that is what this country is built upon.”
Garner died in 2014 in Staten Island after a New York City police officer put him a chokehold and Garner had said “I can’t breathe” 11 times. Garner was pronounced dead at an area hospital approximately one hour later.
Floyd died on May 25 after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was captured on video pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck as the handcuffed 46-year-old Floyd repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.” Floyd died later that day and Chauvin was charged with murder and manslaughter.
Lee’s clips from the two deaths are interspersed with a memorable scene in “Do the Right Thing,” following a fight at Sal’s Pizzeria. After several NYPD officers arrive, actor Bill Nunn’s Radio Raheem character is subdued and killed by an officer who refuses to release his chokehold on Raheem.
Lee’s 94-second spot concludes with the footage from the now-famous Floyd video with an onlooker telling Chauvin, “You just really killed that man.”
Watch the full video below: