Hundreds of Americans have come together to remember George Floyd in Houston, where he grew up, and Minneapolis, where he was killed, on Sunday to mark the event of his horrific murder.
The murder of Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis by police officer Derek Chauvin led to nationwide protests against racism and police brutality, in 2020, which also coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
In Houston, where Floyd’s hometown and burial site, local organisations held poetry sessions, musical performances and speeches by local pastors. The Rev. Al Sharpton said at a graveside service with deceased’s family in Houston that Floyd, 46, represented all of those “who are defenseless against people who thought they could put their knee on our neck.”
Events in Minneapolis centered around George Floyd Square, the intersection where police Officer Derek Chauvin used his knee to pin Floyd’s neck to the pavement for nine and a half minutes, even as Floyd cried “I can’t breathe.”
By midday Sunday, a steady stream of people were paying their respects at a memorial in front of Cup Foods, where he was killed. As reported by AP, activists had set up a feeding area at an old gas station that has often served as a staging area since Floyd’s death, situated across the street from the site of his murder. In the middle of the street, a fake pig’s head was mounted on a stick. The head wore a police cap.
Events started Friday with music, a street festival and a “self-care fair.” It culminated Sunday evening when hundreds gathered at the square for a candlelit vigil that included a worship service, a gospel concert and speeches calling for racial justice. A brass band then led the crowd on a short march through city streets.
Derek Chauvin has been serving a 22-year prison sentence after he was convicted of murdering the 46-year-old. Other officers were convicted for failing to intervene in the killing.
Even with Minneapolis officials’ promises to remake the police department, some activists contend the progress has come at a glacial pace.
Activists had hoped that the worldwide protests that followed Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020, would lead to national police reform and focus on racial justice.
Under President Joe Biden, the US Justice Department had aggressively pushed for oversight of local police it had accused of widespread abuses. But the Trump administration moved Wednesday to cancel settlements with Minneapolis and Louisville that called for an overhaul of their police departments following Floyd’s murder and the killing of Breonna Taylor.
Trump also has declared an end to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the federal government, and his administration is using federal funds as leverage to force local governments, universities and public school districts to do the same.
Recent surveys suggest Americans believe there have been few improvements for the lives of black people in the US five years after Floyd’s passing, including a May survey from Pew Research Center in which 72% of participants said there had been no meaningful changes.
The number of Americans expressing support for the Black Lives Matter movement has also fallen by 15% since June 2020, the same survey suggests.