George Floyd’s 2nd Grade Teacher Shares His Hopeful Drawing & Essay
Image via Lorie Shaull / Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
A young George Floyd had optimistic dreams of serving America as a man of justice, a revelation especially heart-wrenching given the cause of his death. This was made known by Floyd’s second grade teacher, Waynel Sexton, who recently shared an essay and drawing from him that she has kept for almost 40 years with CNN’s Brooke Baldwin.
For their Black History Month assignment, Sexton asked her class, “How will you impact the future? What will you do to make a difference?”
The eight-year-old answered, “When I grow up, I want to be a Supreme Court judge,” pairing his statement with a drawing imagining himself in his dream role. “When people say, ‘Your honor, he did rob the bank,’ I will say, ‘Be seated.’”
Floyd continued, “And if he doesn’t, I will tell the guard to take him out. Then I will beat my hammer on the desk. Then everybody will be quiet.”
Sexton remembered Floyd, who went by his middle name Perry then, as a “quiet” and “good boy” who “was a delight to have in the classroom.” He got along with all his friends and enjoyed the class’ singing and dancing sessions. The essay was one of her fondest memories of the deceased.
“How could we have known that the little boy, the little eight-year-old who drew this precious, delightful picture about justice and wanting to be justice, 38 years later, his life would be taken?” his former teacher reflected.
Sexton said her heart broke for Floyd’s family. “Sadly, I’m sure this isn’t the way he envisioned being famous or bringing justice.”
[via Complex, video via CNN, cover image via Lorie Shaull / Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)]
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