Cities tied to George Floyd mark the 5th anniversary of his death
May 24, 2025, 9:09 PM
FILE - The sun shines above a mural honoring George Floyd in Houston's Third Ward on Sunday, June 7, 2020. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥� Religious services, concerts and vigils are set to mark Sunday鈥檚 fifth anniversary of George Floyd鈥檚 murder by a Minneapolis police officer even as police reform and civil rights activists face what they see as a backlash from the Trump administration.
Events in Minneapolis center around George Floyd Square, the intersection where police Officer Derek Chauvin used his knee to pin Floyd’s neck to the pavement for 9 1/2 minutes, even as the 46-year-old Black man’s cried 鈥淚 can鈥檛 breathe.鈥�
The events started Friday with concerts, a street festival and a 鈥渟elf-care fair,鈥� and culminate with a worship service, gospel music concert and candlelight vigil on Sunday.
In Houston, where Floyd grew up, family members planned to gather Sunday at his gravesite for a memorial service led by the Rev. Al Sharpton. In a park about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away, a memorial service will take place, followed by five hours of music, preaching and poetry readings and a balloon release.
The remembrances come at a fraught moment for activists, who had hoped the worldwide protests that followed Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020, would lead to permanent police reform across the U.S. and a continued focus on racial justice issues.
Even with Minneapolis officials’ promises to remake the police department, some activists contend the progress has come at a glacial pace.
鈥淲e understand that change takes time,鈥� Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said in a statement last week. 鈥淗owever, the progress being claimed by the city is not being felt in the streets.鈥�
President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration moved Wednesday to cancel settlements with Minneapolis and Louisville that called for an overhaul of their police departments following the Floyd’s murder and the killing of Breonna Taylor. Under Democratic President Joe Biden, the U.S. Justice Department had aggressively pushed for aggressive oversight of local police it had accused of widespread abuses.
Trump also declared an end to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the federal government and his administration is using federal funds as leverage to force local governments, universities and public school districts to do the same. Republican-led states also have accelerated their efforts to stamp out DEI initiatives.
