IN May, George Floyd became the most talked-about man in the world and for the most horrific reason. He lost his life at the hands of a man entrusted with enforcing the law in the US.

Former president Barack Obama has criticised some officials overseeing the coronavirus response, telling college graduates that the pandemic shows many “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”

In December 1932, the American state of Georgia may have been different to what it is today even if the belated charging of a father and son for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man shot while jogging in February, suggests old hatreds endure.