It has been three years since the untimely death of George Floyd. As previously reported by REVOLT, on May 25, 2020, the 46-year-old Black man was killed by a white Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer after a store owner said the resident used a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill. As Floyd gasped for air, informing then-police Officer Derek Chauvin that he couldn’t breathe, the cop kept his knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His killing sparked a movement.
“George Floyd’s murder exposed for many what Black and brown communities have long known and experienced — that we must make a commitment to ensure that America lives up to its founding promise of fair and impartial justice for all. Today (May 25), three years after his murder, let us build on the progress we have made and recommit to changing hearts and minds as well as laws and policies,” President Biden said in a series of tweets remembering the slain man.
“A brother, a son, a father was taken from the Floyd family — with George’s murder, they lost a piece of their soul. We will never forget what happened that day. We will never forget George Floyd’s name. We will never stop taking action in his honor,” the president added. Many tributes from elected officials and civil rights leaders poured in online. “Before his name became a hashtag, George Floyd was a human being who mattered,” Bernice King, daughter of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., tweeted, in part. Attorney Benjamin Crump sent his condolences, adding, “Rest in Power.”
In his home state of Minnesota, Governor Tim Walz confessed “true justice” would only come “through real, systemic, and lasting change” before declaring today George Floyd Remembrance Day. His impact spread across the pond where the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, honored the life lost. “My heart goes out to his loved ones. The pain and injustice of their loss reverberated around the world. We stand united in our commitment to root out racism wherever it is found. Our message is clear: Black Lives Matter,” he tweeted.
See more tributes below.