Recently, the George Floyd murder reached the five-year marker.
Commemorations and conversations have been had surrounding the progress or lack thereof regarding commitments made in the wake of Floyd’s murder and the global protests that followed.
This past weekend, members of Floyd’s family convened with National Action Network founder Reverend Al Sharpton, Attorney Ben Crump and various community members in Pearland to not only share remembrances of Floyd and the years since his death, but share plans for a way forward.
The plan is to focus on economic equity.
Aug 28 March
Sharpton spoke on the history of this nation’s DEI policies.
“I want to remind you again that DEI started with corporations. They came up with DEI and said what they were doing in the name of George Floyd,” said Sharpton. “Now they’re backing up from what they created, acting like we were begging them. In fact, we didn’t ask them for a dime. They said, we’re going to give millions. They didn’t give it to the people fighting. They gave it to people, and we still don’t know what happened. And now they are going to take back what was never given. No, you are going to do justice.”
And by justice, Sharpton was referring to economic justice.
“You are going to do business. If you don’t want diversity in the boardroom and your contracts, then you don’t need diversity in your consumer base,” said Sharpton. “That’s why we’re marching on Wall Street on August 28, for economic justice.
Crump is excited and encouraged by the direction the “George Floyd Movement” is taking going forward.
“I love this vision where we keep marching for criminal accountability when they kill us, but we also have to understand that economic justice impacts our children’s education,” said Crump. “It impacts our children’s access to health, our parents’ access to health.
“It impacts our ability to give generational wealth to our children. This is a continuation of the George Floyd movement. So, if you stood up for justice for George Floyd five years ago, we need you to recommit and stand up for justice with us in 2025 and come to the march on Wall Street.”
Response to end of consent decrees
Another topic of the memorial gathering was the recent Department of Justice decision to end the consent decrees that held Minneapolis and Louisville legally accountable for ending their cities’ police departments’ histories of abuse against their citizens.
“It is very disheartening. It is almost as if they are really trying to make the world unsee what the world saw five years ago on this day,” said Crump. “It’s like they’re trying to erase history, erase the truth.”
Sharpton reminded attendees they are not engaged in an “overnight fight.”
“It was 1955 when they started the Montgomery Bus Boycott; we didn’t get the Civil Rights Act in Congress until 1964,” said Sharpton. “They kept fighting for nine years, and they never gave up.
“And we, five years later, will not give up. They can cancel consent decrees, but they can’t stop us from implementing them. The mayor of Minneapolis said they are going to abide by it anyway. We’re going to keep the pressure on in George’s name.”
The struggle continues
Though focusing on the future, many individuals present at the memorial could not help but take time to reflect on the years since 2020.
“We walked this earth doing everything we were supposed to do,” said George’s brother Philonise Floyd. “We marched. We did everything we could to fight for George. Not just George. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. Stephon Clark.
“People did a lot. You had Pamela Turner down in Baytown. People who lost their kids. And we are still here doing the same thing over and over and over again. But we can never give up.”
Importance of voting
The Defender asked Sharpton what the relationship between the recent end to dissent decrees says about the importance of voting.
“It’s everything. Voting will determine whether the policies continue,” he said. “The reason the Trump administration could change the policies is because some of us did not vote our interests. Which is why we have to vote in the midterm. You have to vote this year and keep on voting. You can’t fight for George Floyd legislation if you’re not going to elect George Floyd-type legislators.”
