From WHY in Philadelphia, this is Fresh Air Weekend.

I'm Dave Davies and for Terry Gross.

Today, we remember George Floyd as we approach the second anniversary of his murder.

We'll speak with Washington Post reporters, Robert Samuels and Tolloo O'Learnypa.

They argue that George Floyd's struggles in life reflect the challenges and pressures of

institutional racism in the country. Their new book is, his name is George Floyd.

Also, we hear about the women's House of Detention that forgotten women's prison and

reddage village that played a role in the gay rights movement of the 60s, including the

Stonewall uprising. Angela Davis and Afini Shakur, two-pox mother, were incarcerated there.

We'll talk with Hugh Ryan, whose new book is about what this prison tells us about queer history.

And David B. and Koolie will review the new HBO documentary, George Carlin's American Dream.

Next Wednesday marks the second anniversary of the death of George Floyd,

who was said to have told a friend when he was a teenager that one day he wanted to touch the world.

Sadly, it was not his life, but his murder by police officer Derek Chauvin that touched

off of wave of massive protests for racial justice, and sparked an ongoing national

conversation about race in America. While much is known about George Floyd's death,

our guests, Washington Post reporter Robert Samuels and Tollou O'Learnipa, believe we can learn

a lot by looking at his life. Their new book examines Floyd's 46 years on Earth in detail,

drawing on hundreds of interviews and a trove of public and private records, including diary entries,

rap lyrics, poems, medical records, historical documents, cell phone videos, social media postings,

arrest reports, court documents, job applications, text messages, love letters, and more.

The book is a portrait of a black man raised in poverty, who the authors argue found his

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