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People around the world marked the first death anniversary of George Floyd, a Black man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, US.
Floyd, 46, died after Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for about nine and a half minutes. Chauvin was convicted last month of murder and faces sentencing on June 25.
Observing the death anniversary of George Floyd, US state secretary Antony Blinken said that the nation must face the reality of racism at home in order to be a credible force for human rights around the world. Taking to Twitter, Blinken said, By addressing our shortcomings openly and honestly, we live up to the values that we stand for worldwide.
Former US president Barack Obama in his series of tweets said that hundreds more Americans have died in encounters with police since the murder of George Floyd but the year has also given reasons to hope. In a series of tweets, the first and only Black president in American history asserted that more people in more places are seeing the world more clearly than they did a year ago.
George Floyd was murdered one year ago today. Since then, hundreds more Americans have died in encounters with police—parents, sons, daughters, friends taken from us far too soon. But the last year has also given us reasons to hope.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 25, 2021
Today, more people in more places are seeing the world more clearly than they did a year ago. It’s a tribute to all those who decided that this time would be different—and that they, in their own ways, would help make it different.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 25, 2021
When injustice runs deep, progress takes time. But if we can turn words into action and action into meaningful reform, we will, in the words of James Baldwin, “cease fleeing from reality and begin to change it.”
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 25, 2021
US senator Elizabeth Warren said that she is committed to keeping the fight to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a civil rights and police reform bill drafted by Democrats, as a step towards cementing the “unshakeable truth that Black Lives Matter.” The NBA’s social justice coalition has also called on the Senate to pass the bill to honour the memory of Floyd and “others who have been victims of police brutality.”
A year ago today we didnt know his name, but now its forever etched in our consciousness: #GeorgeFloyd, tweeted iconic talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
A year ago today we didn’t know his name, but now it’s forever etched in our consciousness: #GeorgeFloyd.
(?: @N_du_Time for @OprahDaily) pic.twitter.com/I0zpkuqGUy
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) May 25, 2021
