Former President Barack Obama on Friday spoke out about the death of George Floyd, stating that while Americans may be desperate “to just get back to normal” amid the ongoing pandemic, the 46-year-old’s violent arrest should never be normalized. “We have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, and maddeningly ‘normal’—whether it’s while dealing with the health-care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street or just watching birds in the park,” Obama said in a statement posted on Twitter. “This shouldn't be ‘normal’ in 2020 America. It can’t be ‘normal.’ If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better.”

The former president said that while the responsibility “will fall mainly” on officials in Minnesota to ensure Floyd’s death is investigated and justice is secured, Obama urged residents to work together to “create a ‘new normal’ in which that the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts.”