Six years before George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, Eric Garner was choked to death by New York City law enforcement. Garner repeated his last words, “I can’t breathe,” 11 times before he lost consciousness. His killing was one of the early inspirations for the Black Lives Matter movement that exploded in cities across the country after the video of Floyd’s death went viral on social media.

It is often forgotten due to the brutality of his death, but Garner was first approached because he was selling “loosies” (single cigarettes) without charging the state’s tobacco tax — a violation of New York state law. If the state of New York didn’t have such a ludicrously high tax ($6 a pack) on cigarettes, Garner would never have been on that street corner selling “loosies” to begin with.