A Day of Reflection and Mourning for George Floyd
One year ago, George Floyd entered a convenience store at the intersection of 38th and Chicago.
It was a sunny Memorial Day evening – the kind of day that often shows our city at its best. Whatever Floyd was thinking in those moments, he surely had no idea that the events about to unfold would end his life and spark worldwide protest and outrage.
Since May 25, 2020, it has been a long and often terrible year for Minneapolis. But no period of time has been longer than the 9 minutes and 29 seconds that George Floyd suffered as he was murdered. As the world watched the video captured by a courageous teen, we all knew that this murder, this crime, would change our society forever. George Floyd’s daughter, Gianna, was right when she said, “My daddy changed the world.”
The world took notice and people took to the streets in protest. With the global attention on our city, we knew that the response would be different.
We’ve been able to witness what justice looks like, when the life and dignity of the victim are held up by the law and its process. We cannot stop until this is true for every person in every courtroom, whether the whole world is watching or no one at all.
But the road ahead is a hard one, and the fact remains that George Floyd is no longer with us. He should be and so should countless others.
Tuesday we will join our community in a day of reflection and mourning. At noon, we will tune in to MPR to hear Floyd’s aunt and cousin, Angela Harrelson, and Paris Stevens. Their conversation is part of “The Arc Toward Justice,” a series of talks we sponsored in partnership with Westminster Town Hall Forum to walk with our community as we all strive to become stronger antiracist leaders. Listening is one way we can all move forward in our daily resolve to learn and act for a more just society.
In the coming weeks and months, we will continue reaching out to tell you about work we’re doing at the Minneapolis Foundation and ways you can be part of community-led solutions to the challenges we face together.
We must use this time of reflection to recommit ourselves to the work that still needs to be done to create a more just and equitable society.
Here are some ways to join the fight for criminal justice reform:
- Learn – George Floyd Global Memorial ; George Floyd Memorial Foundation ; George Floyd Foundation “I Can’t Breathe” ; Criminal Justice Reform Learning Hub
- Engage – City of Minneapolis ; Celebrations to mark 1-year anniversary
- Listen – Conversations with Chanda
- Act – Fund for Safe Communities ; RestoreRebuildReimagineFund.org
- Demand Change – Recommendations for reducing police-involved deadly force encounters
