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Associated Press
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
AP PHOTOS: Thousands gather to mark the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's murder
Police reform and civil-rights activists joined thousands of people on Sunday to mark the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's murder and decry the Trump administration for actions they say set their efforts back decades. The Rev. Al Sharpton said at a graveside service with Floyd's family in Houston that the 46-year-old Black man represented all of those 'who are defenseless against people who thought they could put their knee on our neck.' ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The anniversary of George Floyd's murder is a reminder of America's racial divides
In Minneapolis, the spot where George Floyd was murdered has been turned into a mural. His face is depicted in street art on a pavement covered in flowers, rosaries, and other trinkets left by people who have come to pay their respects in the last five years. His final moments, struggling for breath with white police officer Derek Chauvin's knee on his neck, were captured in a viral video that provoked anger, upset, and outrage. In Minneapolis and other parts of America, there were protests that at points boiled over into unrest. The events to mark the fifth anniversary of his death took on a very different tone - one of celebration and joy. Behind a wooden statue of a clenched fist on one end of a junction now renamed George Perry Floyd Square, people gathered in the morning. There was a moment of prayer before a brass band began to play and the group marched, while singing and chanting. 'It made us want to fight harder' Among those gathered in front of a makeshift stage built in the square were two of Floyd's family members - his cousin Paris and aunt Mahalia. To them, the man whose death sparked a racial reckoning in America and further afield, was simply "Perry," a larger-than-life figure whose presence is missed at family gatherings. Speaking to me while the speakers behind them thumped and people danced, they didn't just reflect with sadness though. There was also pride at a legacy they felt has led to change. "It made us want to fight harder," said Mahalia, "and it's a feeling you cannot explain. When the whole world just stood up." Referring to Chauvin's eventual murder charge, Paris added: "I think that from here on out, at least officers know that you're not going to slide through the cracks. Our voices are heard more." The tapestry of items outside the Cup Foods convenience store, now renamed Unity Foods, is not the only makeshift memorial in the area. A short walk away is the "Say Their Names" cemetery, an art installation honouring black people killed by the police. Meeting me there later in the day, activist Nikema Levy says the installation and George Floyd Square are called "sacred spaces" in the community. As someone who took to the streets at the time of Floyd's death and a community organiser for years before that, she's constantly stopped by people who want to speak to her. 'White supremacy on steroids' Once we do manage to speak, Levy reminds me of a wider political picture. One that goes beyond Minneapolis and is a fraught one. In the week of the anniversary, the US Department of Justice rolled back investigations into some of the largest police forces in the country, including in Minneapolis - a move she calls "diabolical." "That type of cruelty is what we have seen since Donald Trump took office on January 20th of this year," she continued. "From my perspective, that is white supremacy on steroids. And it should come as no surprise that he would take these types of steps, because these are the things that he talked about on the campaign trail." Read more from Sky News: 'True healing has never taken place' Trump has argued his policing reforms will help make America's communities safer. Even on a day of optimism, with a community coming together, Levy's words in front of headstones bearing the names of black people who have died at the hands of the police are a reminder of how deep the racial divides in America still are - a sentiment she leaves me with. "From the days of slavery and Jim Crow in this country, we've just had the perception of healing, but true healing has never taken place," she says. "So the aftermath of George Floyd is yet another example of what we already know."
Sky News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
The anniversary of George Floyd's murder is a reminder of America's racial divides
Why you can trust Sky News In Minneapolis, the spot where George Floyd was murdered has been turned into a mural. His face is depicted in street art on a pavement covered in flowers, rosaries, and other trinkets left by people who have come to pay their respects in the last five years. His final moments, struggling for breath with white police officer Derek Chauvin's knee on his neck, were captured in a viral video that provoked anger, upset, and outrage. In Minneapolis and other parts of America, there were protests that at points boiled over into unrest. The events to mark the fifth anniversary of his death took on a very different tone - one of celebration and joy. Behind a wooden statue of a clenched fist on one end of a junction now renamed George Perry Floyd Square, people gathered in the morning. There was a moment of prayer before a brass band began to play and the group marched, while singing and chanting. 'It made us want to fight harder' Among those gathered in front of a makeshift stage built in the square were two of Floyd's family members - his cousin Paris and aunt Mahalia. To them, the man whose death sparked a racial reckoning in America and further afield, was simply "Perry," a larger-than-life figure whose presence is missed at family gatherings. Speaking to me while the speakers behind them thumped and people danced, they didn't just reflect with sadness though. There was also pride at a legacy they felt has led to change. "It made us want to fight harder," said Mahalia, "and it's a feeling you cannot explain. When the whole world just stood up." Referring to Chauvin's eventual murder charge, Paris added: "I think that from here on out, at least officers know that you're not going to slide through the cracks. Our voices are heard more." The tapestry of items outside the Cup Foods convenience store, now renamed Unity Foods, is not the only makeshift memorial in the area. A short walk away is the "Say Their Names" cemetery, an art installation honouring black people killed by the police. Meeting me there later in the day, activist Nikema Levy says the installation and George Floyd Square are called "sacred spaces" in the community. As someone who took to the streets at the time of Floyd's death and a community organiser for years before that, she's constantly stopped by people who want to speak to her. 'White supremacy on steroids' Once we do manage to speak, Levy reminds me of a wider political picture. One that goes beyond Minneapolis and is a fraught one. In the week of the anniversary, the US Department of Justice rolled back investigations into some of the largest police forces in the country, including in Minneapolis - a move she calls "diabolical." "That type of cruelty is what we have seen since Donald Trump took office on January 20th of this year," she continued. "From my perspective, that is white supremacy on steroids. And it should come as no surprise that he would take these types of steps, because these are the things that he talked about on the campaign trail." 3:23 'True healing has never taken place' Trump has argued his policing reforms will help make America's communities safer. Even on a day of optimism, with a community coming together, Levy's words in front of headstones bearing the names of black people who have died at the hands of the police are a reminder of how deep the racial divides in America still are - a sentiment she leaves me with. "From the days of slavery and Jim Crow in this country, we've just had the perception of healing, but true healing has never taken place," she says. "So the aftermath of George Floyd is yet another example of what we already know."
CBS News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
George Floyd Square gardener reflects on 5 years of cultivating memorial
Sunday marks five years since the police murder of George Floyd sparked worldwide protests and a racial justice movement. Members of Floyd's family on Friday joined a crowd in a moment of silence, just steps from where he drew his last breath in south Minneapolis. A man who tends the garden at the intersection where Floyd was murdered hopes something good can grow from painful memories. "This is our response: beauty for ashes," said Jay Webb. Out of the ashes of the uprising after the murder of Floyd, this garden in the intersection of East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue stands. Jay Webb WCCO "Sometimes you do things and it's revealed to you later, you just got to step out on faith," Webb said. Webb decided a garden was needed. "It's for everyone that's ever fallen to injustice," said Webb. And for five years he has tilled this land, not as a job, but a calling. "My intention was that they will never, ever be able to pass here without remembering, " said Webb. "Underneath this garden is written the words peace, love, charity, prosperity. That which is seen comes from that which is unseen." He has witnessed people come to this plot of soil from far and near. Webb believes the flowers, plants and signs empower them to do better. "Our friend now, Dave Chappelle, we planted with and the purpose with planting for everyone who's planted whether it's from Czechoslovakia or South Africa or Uzbekistan is invite them and they would stand in the gap for all their countries, all their family, their ancestors and they would take in the authority, they would dig out this and then put a plant to replace that, that's what the prayer was," said Webb. Digging out what is bad and replacing it with what is good. For five years, this has been Webb's vision, and when asked what has changed, he said, "Belief, reverence, respect." Respect for the fallen and belief that we will move forward together, stronger than ever.
