Today would have been George Floyd’s 52nd birthday. He should be here celebrating with his loved ones.

George was a beloved father, son, brother, and a loving friend to many in his community. His horrific killing by Minneapolis police enraged millions of people around the world, who flooded the streets to demand justice — not just for George, but for every Black person brutalized by a system built on white supremacist violence.

In response, the people of Minneapolis burned the third precinct, and the community continues to occupy an autonomous protest zone where he was murdered. The Minneapolis resistance sparked worldwide protests for the murders and incarceration of so many Black people at the hands of police, leading to nationwide calls to defund the police.

As we take to the streets for our Palestinian friends and comrades and for everyone terrorized by ICE and fascist US police, we recognize that militarized police brutality should come as no surprise: The US government’s investment in colonialism, militarism, and occupation abroad always circles back to US streets. The militarization of US police forces is rooted in America’s war-making all over the world, which includes funding and support for Israel’s occupation and genocide. American policing is rooted in enslavement and settler colonialism, and has always been in the business of surveilling and shutting down justice movements.

Black people deserve to be safe, they deserve to be protected. From Minneapolis to Palestine, our combined struggle against white supremacist state violence only grows stronger.

We join together to fight for a future where Black people can be free from violence, to live long abundant lives. From the US to Palestine, we must abolish racist police forces that murder with impunity and brutally repress our protests against their violence.

Happy birthday, George. May your memory be a blessing.