FOX 11 Los Angeles will air its docuseries “Rising Up,” beginning on May 24. The five-part special documents the murder of George Floyd and the events following his death. “Rising Up,” will air nightly and conclude on May 28.
George Floyd was murdered by the police on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis. Former police officer Derek Chauvin killed Floyd — who was laying on his stomach facedown with his hands cuffed behind his back — by kneeling on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Police were called over an allegedly fake $20 bill Floyd used at a Cub Foods.
George repeatedly said that he couldn’t breathe and begged for air. “You’re going to kill me, man,” he gasped. Three other police officers on the scene, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and and Tou Thao, did nothing to stop Chauvin as Floyd said, “I can’t breathe,” more than 20 times.
Bystanders said that they felt helpless as they witnessed Floyd’s murder. One of the officers held them back, but 17-year-old Darnella Frazier managed to record Chauvin with her cell phone. As the paramedics arrived, Chauvin still refused to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck, who was limp and unconscious. George Floyd was 46-years-old.
The video from Frazier’s cell phone went viral after being posted to Facebook, and an international social justice movement was ignited. Protests erupted in nearly every country in the world.
Chauvin, 45, was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter, unintentional second-degree murder and third-degree murder. Sentencing is scheduled for June 16, and Chauvin could be facing life in prison if he receives the maximum sentence. All four officers were recently indicted on Federal civil rights charges and will go on trial in August.
Floyd’s family won a $27 million settlement from the City of Minneapolis in March. The family’s attorney, Ben Crump, said that the historical win proved that Black Lives Matter. “This historic $27 million settlement is PROOF that Black lives will no longer be written off as trivial, unimportant, or unworthy of consequences. #BlackLivesMatter.”
This historic $27 million settlement is PROOF that Black lives will no longer be written off as trivial, unimportant, or unworthy of consequences. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/H2LHCkiNVI
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) March 12, 2021
The docuseries includes interviews with Rev. Al Sharpton, Black Lives Matter co-founder and CSULA professor Melina Abdullah, Rep. Karen Bass, Rodney King’s daughter Lora King and Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore. Activists, journalists, law enforcement, politicians and protesters are also interviewed.
Professor Melina Abdullah told it like it is in the documentary’s trailer.
“We have a right to rage.” she said. “We have a right to be in the streets. We have a sacred duty to shut down business as usual. And that doesn’t make us violent. That makes us freedom-fighters.”
FOX 11 Los Angeles Assistant News Director Pete Wilgoren told Sister2 Sister Magazine that one of the most impactful interviews he heard while working on the docuseries was from the daughter of Rodney King, Lora King.
During the interview, King noted how disappointing it is for her to hear stories like her father’s with another name attached to a hashtag.
“To hear the heartbreaking story of a daughter growing up with this heavy spotlight on her dad and her family,” said Wilgoren. “It’s hard to hear. She knows the date by heart. She knows her dad’s injuries by heart. So she is a really good barometer at how far we’ve really come in the past decades when it comes to civil rights.
Sister 2 Sister Magazine asked Wilgoren what prompted FOX 11 to make the docuseries.
“There was a sense that we needed to do a comprehensive analysis of this historic week,” said Wilgoren. “How we got there, and how far we’ve come since—or HAVE we come far at all?”
He added that wanted to explore protesting versus lawlessness and policing versus defunding, as well as “expand the conversation,” with the docuseries.
“The challenge for us was a story which doesn’t have an ending. The social justice movement isn’t over. And it won’t be over when this docu-series airs. And the name George Floyd is just beginning its impact on the world. So we spent the last three months working on a story without knowing HOW it would look at the end.
An Army National Guard soldier who supported protestors but also did his duty tells his story in the documentary. The soldier told “Rising Up,” producers that he had a story the country needed to hear.
“And he was right,” said Wilgoren.
“Rising Up,” premieres May 24 at 6 p.m. on FOX 11 Los Angeles. It will also be available to stream on Tubi, YouTube, FOX Soul and News Now.
