Eric Garner is an unarmed Black man living in New York City. He possesses very large hands and works for the Parks and Recreation Horticultural Department. He gently places plants into the earth, fostering vegetation that provides shelter for small creatures and creates oxygen. While standing on a Staten Island sidewalk, he is approached by police officers who accuse him of selling untaxed cigarettes.

Daniel Pantaleo serves as a police officer for the New York Police Department. He confronts Garner on a sidewalk regarding the sale of individual cigarettes. During the interaction, he uses a chokehold tactic that violates department regulations.

John Crawford is a Black man visiting a Walmart store in Beavercreek, Ohio. He examines a BB gun available for purchase inside the store. Security footage later contradicts the claims made by the officers who approach him.

Michael Brown is a Black teenager from Ferguson, Missouri. His encounter with a white police officer attracts significant national attention. This public focus helps mobilize a new social justice movement that uses social media to coordinate supporters.

Sandra Bland is a twenty-eight-year-old Black woman preparing to start a new job at her alma mater. A state trooper stops her vehicle for failing to use a turn signal. She uses her cell phone to record the trooper threatening her with a stun gun before her imprisonment.

Breonna Taylor works as an emergency medical technician in Louisville, Kentucky. Police officers forcefully enter her home while she is sleeping. The incident sparks widespread protests and inspires numerous artistic responses across the country.

George Floyd is a Black man living in Minneapolis. Bystanders use cell phones to record a police officer kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes. The footage of this prolonged restraint circulates widely on social media and news sites.

Derek Chauvin works as a police officer in Minneapolis. He kneels on the neck of George Floyd for eight minutes and forty-six seconds during an encounter. Bystanders record his actions, leading to extensive public outrage.

Ross Gay works as a professor at Indiana University. He writes poetry and cultivates gardens. He studies the concept of joy and frequently documents his observations about plants and nature in his literary collections.