George Floyd’s Teacher Shares His 2nd Grade Supreme Court Aspirations Essay
Written by SOURCE on June 5, 2020
As an 8-year-old boy, George Floyd had dreams of impacting the world and ensuring justice for Americans. This aspiration was recently revealed by Waynel Sexton, Floyd’s 2nd grade teacher at Frederick Douglass Elementary School in Texas.
In the days following Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, Sexton shared an essay written by Floyd nearly 40 years ago. The assignment was submitted at the end of Black History Month, when Sexton asked her students, “How will you impact the future? What will you do to make a difference?”
Floyd, who went by his middle name “Perry” as a child, expressed his dream of becoming a justice of the highest court.
“When I grow up, I want to be a Supreme Court judge,” he wrote in the essay, which was accompanied by a drawing. “When people say, ‘Your honor, he did rob the bank, I will say, ‘Be seated.’ 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 told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin she has kept many of her students’ projects over the years, and said this particular essay was one of her favorite memories of Floyd.
“My heart breaks for his family,” Sexton said. “How could we have know that the little boy, the little 8-year-old who drew this precious, delightful picture about justice and wanting to be justice, 38 years later his life would be taken. Sadly, I’m sure this isn’t the way he envisioned being famous or bringing justice.”
Sexton went on to describe Floyd as a “quite” kid who enjoyed his friends and all the singing and dancing done in class.
“He was a good boy,” she continued. “He was a delight to have in the classroom.”
