NEW YORK (PIX11) — May 25, 2020, a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on George Floyd’s next for nine minutes, startling thousands into action with a demand for justice.
Former police officer Derek Chauvin is serving a 21-year prison sentence.
In an interview with PIX11’s Ayana Harry, Floyd’s brother Terrence Floyd said, “I am grateful that it happened the way it did, with video, with the people coming out and protesting and saying, enough is enough.”
After the social unrest following Floyd’s death, New York became one of the first states to enact policing reform, banning law enforcement from using chokeholds.
Efforts to address police misconduct nationwide with the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act stalled in Washington.
“Passed the House twice, was thwarted by Senate filibuster,” National Urban League CEO Marc Morial explained. “We are going to continue to work, advocate, fight for the passage of that law.”
The National Urban League is also fighting for accountability. According to McKinsey & Company, $340 billion was pledged by Fortune 1000 companies to advance racial equity after Floyd’s death.
The Urban League is one of several civil rights organizations now reaching out to those corporations asking for details on how that money has been invested.
“I’m familiar with several that have followed that have followed through. I am familiar with several that appear to have gotten a little amnesia,” Morial said.
