Families, civil rights leaders reflect on one year since George Floyd's killing

There were plenty of nights over the last year when Bridgett Floyd couldn't sleep. Days when she thought she couldn't go on.

But in the year since her brother's death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, she said she watched George Floyd become a catalyst for change in policing in America.

"When we say we have justice for George, we also have Black justice for families that nobody has seen behind the curtains," she said. "Cases that were swept under the rug. My brother has opened all the cases."

Floyd's family, community members, politicians, civil rights leaders and people who lost loved ones in fatal police encounters across the country gathered in downtown Minneapolis on Sunday in remembrance of Floyd just days before the anniversary of his death. They also reflected on everything that has happened since.

His killing, which was captured on bystander video, sparked worldwide protests. Policing laws and practices changed in cities and states across the nation, including Minnesota. One month ago, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of Floyd's murder, the first time in state history a white officer was found guilty of killing a Black person.

"George Floyd is not going in history as a martyr," civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton told the crowd of several hundred gathered outside the Hennepin County Government Center. "He's going in history as a game changer. When you went down on his neck, you broke the neck of police misconduct in this country."

But as leaders and families took stock of everything that has happened since the night of May 25, 2020, they pushed on what they said still needs to change.

Attorney Benjamin Crump, who represented Floyd's family, turned to the politicians in the crowd and called for action on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the U.S. House in March but has stalled in the Senate.

President Joe Biden has called on lawmakers to act on the legislation by the anniversary of Floyd's death on Tuesday.

"We must use this opportunity to get the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed," Crump said. "So we can prevent some of these unnecessary, preventable, unjustifiable, illegal and unconstitutional killings of our people."

Minnesota U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith were in the crowd Sunday, along with DFL Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.

The debate over policing is also ongoing at the Capitol in St. Paul, where the divided Legislature is at an impasse over a dozen police accountability proposals, from reforms related to traffic stops and new no-knock warrant regulations to allowing communities to create citizen boards to provide oversight over law enforcement.

That push was reinforced for activists after the death of Daunte Wright, who was fatally shot by former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop on April 11. Wright's family sat in the front row of the remembrance on Sunday.

"The issue is implicit bias, the issue is racism, the issue is discrimination," Crump said. "We know they wouldn't have did what they did to Daunte Wright had it been a young white boy."

Outside the steps of the Government Center, which had been fortified by a massive fence and law enforcement presence during the Chauvin trial, people handed out flowers and danced to music over loud speakers. They waved signs bearing Floyd's face and lined up and marched through downtown after the rally, shouting his name.

"It's a hopeful sign for us to be optimistic, but never to be complacent," said Tylik McMillan, youth director for National Action Network. "Complacency is the enemy of accomplishment and we have so much left to accomplish."

South Side pastor Carmen Means, who is the executive director of the neighborhood organization for the area where Floyd was killed, has spent years protesting after Black Minnesotans such as Philando Castile and Jamar Clark died after encounters with police.

"What has changed? The game hasn't changed, the game remains the same," she said. "What has changed is that you have been activated on a whole 'nother level."

Since Floyd's death, his sister Bridgett started the George Floyd Memorial Foundation, which has handed out scholarships to universities and is working to raise awareness about cases like Floyd's and provide people civil rights protection.

She never expected to be thrust into this work, but she said it's what her brother would have wanted.

"That officer didn't know what he took from us last year," she said. "I will stand and be the voice for [George], I will stand and be the change for him. I will stand and continue to be the legacy for him."

Briana Bierschbach • 651-925-5042