Reuters
People across the United States are honoring George Floyd five years after his death at the hands of police, with special events in both the city where he was raised and the one where he was killed.
Floyd's murder, committed by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, sparked widespread protests against racial injustice and police violence.
On Sunday, Floyd’s family convened in their hometown of Houston, close to his burial sit,e for an event led by Rev. Al Sharpton, while Minneapolis hosted various commemorative activities.
What many recognized as a national "reckoning" with racism following Floyd's death appears to be diminishing as President Donald Trump begins to reverse police reform initiatives in Minneapolis and other cities.
In Minneapolis, local residents organized a morning church service, a candlelight vigil, and an evening gospel concert on Sunday to commemorate Floyd.
These activities were part of the annual Rise and Remember Festival held in George Floyd Square, the location where he was killed and which has been named in his honor.
"Now is the moment for the people to stand up and keep pushing forward the important work we began," Angela Harrelson, Floyd’s aunt and co-chair of the Rise and Remember nonprofit, stated regarding the festival.
In Houston, the city where Floyd was raised and is interred, local groups organized poetry readings, musical events, and speeches from community pastors.
Floyd was killed in 2020 during a police arrest in Minneapolis when Officer Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for over nine minutes.
The incident, filmed by a bystander, ignited worldwide outrage and led to widespread protests against racial inequality and police brutality.
Chauvin is currently serving a 22-year sentence for the murder of the 46-year-old man, while other officers faced convictions for not intervening during the incident.
In a message posted on X, Rev Sharpton remarked that Floyd's death had prompted an essential confrontation with systemic racism and inspired millions to protest.
"Though the conviction of the responsible officer was a rare moment of justice, our mission is still far from complete," he stated.
Following Floyd's death, under the leadership of former President Joe Biden, the Justice Department initiated civil investigations into several local police departments, including those in Minneapolis, Louisville, Phoenix, and Lexington, Mississippi, where findings revealed patterns of systemic police abuse.
The department established agreements with both the police departments in Louisville and Minneapolis, which incorporated oversight measures such as enhanced training, accountability, and improved tracking of police activities.
However, last Wednesday, the Trump administration claimed that these findings relied on "faulty methodologies and insufficient data."
Administration officials argued that the agreements were "restricting" local law enforcement agencies.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stated this week that his city would continue to "adhere to every sentence, of every paragraph, of the 169-page consent decree that we signed this year."
Since resuming his presidency, Trump has also targeted Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI) initiatives aimed at combating racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination. Early in his administration, Trump enacted an executive order to eliminate DEI policies within the federal government, some of which stemmed from protests during what is frequently referred to as "Black Lives Matter Summer," which occurred after the deaths of Floyd and others.
In the meantime, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser dismantled Black Lives Matter Plaza, a stretch of road marked with the phrase near the White House. Additionally, this week, a well-known mural of Floyd in Houston was destroyed as part of a building demolition, according to Houston Public Media.
Recent polls indicate that Americans feel there have been minimal advancements for the lives of Black people in the US five years following Floyd's death, including a May survey from the Pew Research Center, where 72% of respondents believed no significant changes had occurred.
The percentage of Americans showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement has also decreased by 15% since June 2020, according to the same survey.
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