Americans on Sunday commemorated five years since George Floyd was killed by a US police officer, as President Donald Trump reverses reforms intended to combat racism.
Floyd’s fatal arrest on 25 May 2020 became a catalyst for the global Black Lives Matter movement, highlighting systemic issues such as police brutality and racial inequality. At the time, Trump was in his first term as president. Since returning to office in January, his administration has rolled back civil rights investigations and curtailed diversity hiring programmes.
Support for BLM has waned from its 2020 peak, when mass protests swept through US cities amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Today, critics argue the movement has seen limited tangible progress.
A remembrance event is being held at George Floyd Square — the Minneapolis intersection where the 46-year-old died as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck. The square, adorned with protest murals including one stating, “You Changed the World, George,” stands as a tribute, although now seemingly at odds with a political climate where some Trump allies have even suggested pardoning Chauvin, who was convicted of Floyd’s murder and sentenced to over 22 years in prison.
Analysts suggest Trump’s re-election was in part a backlash against BLM and its calls to defund the police, which in some cases led to unrest.
Floyd’s relatives gathered on Friday at the square, placing yellow roses and holding a moment of silence at the very spot where his arrest was filmed and shared worldwide. Events throughout the weekend include music, art, dance, and a candlelight vigil.
“We don’t need an executive order to tell us Black lives matter,” said Floyd’s aunt, Angela Harrelson, wearing a shirt with her nephew’s image. “We cannot let a setback be a holdback for the great comeback. Donald Trump just didn’t get the memo.”
Floyd’s cousin Paris Stevens added: “No one can silence us anymore.”
This year’s memorial carries the theme, “The People Have Spoken,” a phrase inspired by Nelson Mandela’s grandson Nkosi during a recent visit, according to Harrelson.
Jill Foster, a local physician, told AFP that remembering Floyd was an act of political defiance: “Under the Trump administration, everything is trying to be rewritten. We must keep the memory alive.”
Courteney Ross, Floyd’s girlfriend at the time of his death, reflected on her loss during the tribute. “I miss him so much,” she said. “But it’s beautiful to see people come out and celebrate him. You see a kind of unity that’s rare in this country.”