Eight minutes 46 seconds

Eight minutes 46 seconds (8:46) is a symbol of police brutality associated with the killing of George Floyd.[1] He died in police custody after officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for 7 minutes 46 seconds, but it was reported for weeks as 8:46 until prosecutors acknowledged the error.[1][2][3] In the days following his death, and the protests that followed, that specific time span has become a focus of commemorations and debates, especially around Blackout Tuesday.[4]

"8:46" redirects here. For the 2020 special by comedian Dave Chappelle, see 8:46 (special).

The time has been specifically referenced in "die-in" protests in Minneapolis, New York, Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Portland, Chicago, Denver and other cities, where protesters lay down for eight minutes 46 seconds to protest police brutality and the racialized killings by law enforcement officers in the United States.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] The timespan has also been used in numerous commemorations, vigils and gatherings to recognize Floyd and protest his killing, including at his memorial on June 4, 2020.[13]

Calculation of timespan
Further information: Killing of George Floyd

The duration is of Officer Chauvin placing his knee on Floyd's neck, starting after Floyd was taken from his car and restrained by the Minneapolis Police. Chauvin proceeded to apply a neck restraint while Floyd was lying on his stomach. The Hennepin County Attorney's complaint against Chauvin said:

The defendant had his knee on Mr. Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in total. Two minutes and 53 seconds of this was after Mr. Floyd was non-responsive. Police are trained that this type of restraint with a subject in a prone position is inherently dangerous.[14][15][16]

The charging complaint records Floyd being pulled out of the squad car at 8:19:38 p.m. and Chauvin applying his knee to Floyd's neck until 8:27:24 p.m.[17] It has been noted that these timestamps add up to 7:46 rather than 8:46, though the latter time span has been the focus of public commentary and commemorations.[18] On June 17, the prosecution admitted that the complaint is off by one minute and the actual time was 7 minutes and 46 seconds.[19] The New York Times has noted that its own reconstruction of events from the extant videos showed the length of time was probably 8 minutes and 15 seconds.[20]

Protests and commemorations
Further information: George Floyd protests

In addition to the die-ins that have used eight minutes 46 seconds as their staged length, numerous marches and gatherings have used the duration[21] to mark moments of silence, vigils, prayers, traffic-slowdowns[22] or taking a knee.[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] George Floyd's memorial in Minneapolis on June 4, 2020 ended with mourners standing for 8:46 to commemorate Floyd.[13][31]

Cities and institutions

In St. Petersburg, Florida, city officials announced that from June 2 to June 9, citizens should, "join together in a silent and peaceful protest by standing outside on their front porch or yard for 8 minutes and 46 seconds" each night at 8:00 P.M.[32]

Following the example of New York City's Empire State Building,[33] the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. has stated that it would go dark for nine nights to acknowledge the nearly nine minutes Floyd was held with a neck restraint.[34]

On June 9, 2020, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued a proclamation declaring eight minutes 46 seconds of silence at 11:00 a.m. CDT in memory of George Floyd, which coincided with the beginning of Floyd's funeral in Houston, Texas that day.[35]

Political

Democratic Senators observed eight minutes 46 seconds of silence, with some kneeling, during their caucus meeting on June 4, 2020.[36]

Corporations

On June 3, 2020, CEO Sundar Pichai told employees at Alphabet and Google to honor black lives lost in relation to the death of George Floyd.[37] He said, “Today at 1:00pm PDT we'll be standing together to honor the memories of Black lives lost in an 8 minute and 46 second moment of silence.”

The New York Stock Exchange observed 8:46 of silence, beginning its silence at the same time that Floyd's funeral in Houston began.[38] This was the longest moment of silence ever held in its 228-year history.[38]

Sports

On June 3, 2020, the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team announced they were lighting up their home sports stadium to honor George Floyd.[39] In a Twitter message, they said, "The Dodgers joined families across Los Angeles in shining our Dodger Stadium lights into the sky at 9 pm for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in recognition of George Floyd."[40]

Radio and music streaming

Radio stations, such as KHKS in Dallas, Texas, included eight minutes 46 seconds of silence in remembrance of Floyd.[41] After return from the airing of silence, KHKS host Billy the Kidd said, "8 minutes and 46 seconds, that's what it feels like. 8 minutes and 46 seconds, another black person's life ends, for no reason."

Major streaming services Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music all scheduled special related programming to pay tribute to the death of Floyd.[42] Spotify included an 8:46 long pause in playlists, in solidarity with the music hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused.[43][44]

Television

ViacomCBS aired an eight-minute 46-second long quasi-public service announcement on 11 of their television channels at 5 p.m. EST on June 1, 2020, consisting of the words "I can't breathe" in capitals, pulsing on a black background accompanied with breathing sounds.[45] At the same time, children's television channel Nickelodeon, another ViacomCBS property, had an orange screen for 8:46 in "support of justice, equality, and human rights."[46][47][48][49]

All of the 19 U.S. television channels owned by Discovery, Inc. suspended regular programming for 8 minutes and 46 seconds on June 2, 2020 at 8 p.m. EST in participation with Blackout Tuesday. This move was led by the Discovery-owned Oprah Winfrey Network. The networks aired a dark screen with the message "We honor George Floyd and all those who came before. We stand against discrimination and social injustice," along with a link to the website of Discovery RISE, a global initiative set up by Discovery in partnership with Save the Children.[50]

Journalism

8 Minutes and 46 Seconds was the title of a New York Times investigation which reconstructed the events surrounding Floyd's death using security footage, witness videos and official documents.[51] Staff writer Graeme Wood of The Atlantic wrote a column titled, "How Do You Kneel on a Neck for Nine Minutes?" where he simulated the physical conditions of applying eight minutes and 46 seconds of neck restraint. He wrote, "My crude simulator involved a stopwatch and kneeling on a rolled-up yoga mat," while recording his experiences at 20 seconds, 1 minute, 3 minutes and beyond.[52]

On June 4, 2020, The Associated Press ran a widely syndicated story, "8:46: A Number Becomes a Potent Symbol of Police Brutality[18]" that stated, "All protest movements have slogans. George Floyd's has a number: 8:46."

Websites

A website with the address 8m46s.com emerged a few days after Floyd's death, allowing the user to play a timer of eight minutes 46 seconds, accompanied by a partial transcript of Floyd's final words.[53]

References
  1. "Prosecutors say officer had knee on George Floyd's neck for 7:46 rather than 8:46". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 18, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  2. Hill, Evan; Tiefenthäler, Ainara; Triebert, Christiaan; Jordan, Drew; Willis, Haley; Stein, Robin (May 31, 2020). "8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  3. "8 minutes, 46 seconds". St. Cloud Times. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  4. Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer. "Music industry players including Mick Jagger, Quincy Jones respond to George Floyd's death with Blackout Tuesday: 'This is what solidarity looks like'". CNET. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  5. Pozo, Nathalie (June 2, 2020). "Thousands of protesters hold die-in, march through Boston to protest death of George Floyd". WHDH. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  6. "George Floyd protest updates: City curfews going into effect nationwide". ABC News. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  7. "Protests show no sign of fading more than a week after the death of George Floyd". NBC News. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  8. "Denver sees a third day of protests over George Floyd's death". Denverite. May 30, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  9. "Hundreds of protesters in New York staged a die-in in Times Square". SBS News. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  10. "Hours of peaceful protests in Portland again followed by unlawful assembly". KGW. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  11. "In Philadelphia, there were nine minutes of silence. In LA protesters knelt with their hands up in peace signs as they waited to". DNyuz. June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  12. Wehelie, Benazir; Woodyatt, Amy (June 3, 2020). "'I can't breathe': Hundreds lie down in protest". CNN. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  13. Searcey, Dionne (June 4, 2020). "At George Floyd Memorial, an Anguished Call for Change". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  14. Culver, Jordan; Hauck, Grace (May 29, 2020). "8 minutes, 46 seconds and 'inherently dangerous': What's in the criminal complaint in the George Floyd case". USA Today. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  15. "8 notable details in the criminal complaint against ex-Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin". KTVZ. June 2, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  16. "Read the complaint charging ex-officer Derek Chauvin with George Floyd's death". PBS NewsHour. May 29, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  17. "Read: Murder complaint tells what led to George Floyd's death". The Mercury News. May 29, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  18. "8:46: A Number Becomes a Potent Symbol of Police Brutality". The New York Times. The Associated Press. June 4, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  19. FORLITI, Amy (June 17, 2020). "Prosecutors: Officer had knee on Floyd for 7:46, not 8:46". AP News. MINNEAPOLIS: AP News. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  20. Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas (June 18, 2020). "8 Minutes, 46 Seconds Became a Symbol in George Floyd's Death. The Exact Time Is Less Clear". The New York Times. New York: The New York Times Company. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  21. "George Floyd protesters undeterred by US curfews: Live updates". Al Jazeera. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  22. "Protesters arrested for slowing traffic on Interstate 40". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  23. "Snapshot: Zionsville gathers in solidarity to honor George Floyd". Current Publishing. June 2, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
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  29. Counts, Austin. "Tucson Honors George Floyd's Memory at The Dunbar Pavilion". Tucson Weekly. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
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  35. Walsh, Paul (June 9, 2020). "Gov. Tim Walz calls for 8 minutes, 46 seconds of silence today in honor of George Floyd". Star Tribune. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  36. Coleman, Justine (June 4, 2020). "Democratic senators kneel during moment of silence for George Floyd". TheHill. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  37. Elias, Jennifer (June 3, 2020). "Google CEO says company will hold moment of silence on Wednesday for George Floyd". CNBC. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  38. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN23G2IM
  39. "Lights Shine Bright At Dodger Stadium For 8 Minutes, 46 Seconds In A Silent Tribute For George Floyd". June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  40. "Tonight, the Dodgers joined families across Los Angeles in shining our Dodger Stadium lights into the sky at 9 pm for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in recognition of George Floyd. The Dodgers join all Angelenos in this peaceful display of unity to shine a light in the darkness". Twitter. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  41. "KHKS (106.1 KISS-FM)/Dallas Offers 8 Min And 46 Seconds Of Silence In Tribute To George Floyd". All Access. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  42. Statt, Nick (June 1, 2020). "Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon unite in support of Blackout Tuesday". The Verge. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  43. "Spotify Stands With the Black Community in the Fight Against Racism and Injustice". Spotify. June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  44. Wheeler, André (June 2, 2020). "#TheShowMustBePaused: music industry plans day of silence for George Floyd". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
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  46. Ramos, Dino-Ray (June 1, 2020). "ViacomCBS Unveils 8-Minute, 46-Second Blackout Video Tribute to George Floyd – Update". Deadline. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
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  48. @nickelodeon (June 1, 2020). "we are all part of the change #blacklivesmatter" (Tweet). Retrieved June 2, 2020 – via Twitter.
  49. Eustachewich, Lia (June 3, 2020). "Nickelodeon honors George Floyd by going off air for 8 minutes, 46 seconds". New York Post. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  50. @OWNTV (May 30, 2020). "Led by OWN, the Discovery family of networks is going dark at 8p ET today for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in tribute of George Floyd and all those that came before" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  51. Hill, Evan; Tiefenthäler, Ainara; Triebert, Christiaan; Jordan, Drew; Willis, Haley; Stein, Robin (May 31, 2020). "8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  52. Wood, Graeme (May 31, 2020). "How Do You Kneel on a Neck for Nine Minutes?". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  53. "a website that is going viral and shows the time that George Floyd had a knee in his neck". Latest News, Breaking News, Top News Headlines. June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
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