Thousands of people across the country marked the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's killing on Sunday, with many assessing efforts to bring change to police departments and lamenting Trump administration actions that they said have set them back years. Floyd's family gathered near Floyd's gravesite in Houston, the BBC reports, where poetry sessions, musical performances, and speeches were scheduled. And a church service, candlelight vigil, and gospel concert were planned in Minneapolis, where Floyd died when a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pinned his knee against the Black man's neck for 9½ minutes.
Tom Johnson, 74, went to the flower-covered memorial at the spot in Minneapolis where Floyd died, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I don't know what to do. ... It's something," he said, adding that the Trump administration's dismantling of diversity initiatives has deepened the shadow over the day. "People come here to pay respects, take pictures and leave," said Marquise Bowie, 49, who lives two blocks away. Those who live in the area "need more than just a celebration of a person," he said. "We need resources." Last week, the Trump administration announced it's moving to drop settlements with Minneapolis and Louisville that called for an overhaul of their police departments after the police killings of Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville.
The Rev. Al Sharpton criticized the announcement and its timing but told the graveside gathering that the efforts will continue. "We made things happen" after Floyd's death, he said, "and we're going to make them happen again." Detrius Smith of Dallas went to the memorial site with her three daughters and five grandchildren. She told one granddaughter that people around the world came together against racial injustice after Floyd's murder, per the AP. "It just really feels good, just really to see everybody out here celebrating the life, and the memories of George Floyd and just really remembering what happened," Smith said. "We want to do everything we can to work together so everybody can have the same equal rights." (More George Floyd stories.)
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