Today (May 25) marks the four-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, a Black man who was fatally pinned to the ground as white Minneapolis, Minnesota, Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck before a crowd of bystanders.
The passing of the 46-year-old led to a nationwide and global movement that saw demonstrators protest against police brutality and racial injustice. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in April 2021. He was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison. Video captured by citizens at the scene showed George expressing that he was unable to breathe as his airway was obstructed for nine minutes.
Today, tributes continue to echo that the Texas-raised man’s life was unjustly cut short. “George Floyd should be alive. He deserved so much more. Today, I join all those who loved him and all those touched by the civil rights movement he inspired in remembering the tragedy and injustice of his death. He changed the world. Now, let's act in his memory,” wrote President Joe Biden.
George’s sister, Bridgett Floyd, told People that she wanted him to be remembered as more than just some man. “He just wasn’t any Black man. But he was somebody, and he was the somebody that’s going to help everybody that needs help. That’s what I want the world to know — that he is the somebody that is going to help everybody,” she said.
Attorney Ben Crump tweeted, “George’s story will forever inspire those fighting to put an END to police brutality. Today, we send love to his family and remember the national movement his death sparked!”
Several others expressed support for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a bill outlining federal police reform that would include limited police use of force, restricted no-knock warrants and chokeholds, as well as a lower criminal intent barometer to convict an officer. It was first introduced by then-California Rep. Karen Bass, who has since been elected mayor, in 2021. The legislation passed in the then-Democrat-run House but stalled in the Senate.
On Thursday (May 23), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee reintroduced the proposed bill. “Far too many lives have been lost or forever changed due to unacceptable incidents of police brutality throughout our nation,” Jackson Lee said at a press conference. “We cannot allow another American to be deprived of his or her humanity, dignity and constitutional right without taking action.”
This month, it was also announced by Deadline that a family-authorized biopic, Daddy Changed the World, is in the works. The film will showcase the man, father, friend and loved one that George was while also addressing the global social justice movement his untimely death sparked. His daughter, Gianna Floyd, and her mother, Roxie Washington, are attached as executive producers.
“We are excited the world will see the real, jovial and loving George we know. This film will humanize him, embody the essence of his life and hopefully reignite efforts to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. It’s time for justice and equality for all,” said Washington.
The project is in partnership with Radar Pictures, 8 Queens Film & Media Productions and Night Fox Entertainment, and it is seeking a director. Stomp the Yard writer Gregory R. Anderson is set to pen the screenplay.