Meetings in Minneapolis ahead of the anniversary of the assassination of George Floyd Black Lives Matter News

People gathered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before the anniversary of the assassination of George Floyd, which sparked mass protests to end in the United States. police violence against blacks.

Derek Chauvin was a former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder last month, when he was arrested on May 25 last year, he held his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.

Demonstrators gathered outside the Hennepin County Government Center on Sunday, the site of Chauvin’s trial, to remember Floyd’s life and call for action to combat police violence and black racism.

The George Floyd Memorial Foundation, a group formed by Floyd’s sister Bridgett Floyd, said the event directed “To show a constant call for accountability and reform, because the right to equal justice must not be conditioned or based on the color of a person.”

Several other gatherings and events are being held across the U.S. on Tuesday to mark the anniversary.

“The day is approaching,” Bridgett Floyd told reporters earlier in the week, NBC News member KARE11 in Minneapolis reported.

“And I feel as close as the days come that I feel a little stronger than last year, and that’s because I’ve lived a lot this past year. I have no other choice but to be strong and have that weight, and carry that attitude that God has put in me. I didn’t see it coming, none of us did, ”he said.

‘Step in the direction’

Priest Al Sharpton, a prominent U.S. civil rights leader, was in Minneapolis on Sunday to reunite with the Floyd family, who said “not only have they suffered pain, they have been the ones to stand up for justice in this matter.”

“Chauvin’s verdict was a step in the right direction, but it was a step,” Sharpton said he told MSNBC before the rally. “We have a long way to go. I’m glad we’re on the right track, but we have to keep going. “

Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden “described” Chauvin’s conviction as “three criminal charges related to Floyd’s murder.”move forward“.

“I can’t breathe.” Those were the last words of George Floyd. We can’t let them die with him. We need to keep listening. We don’t have to go back. We can’t go back. This could be a moment of significant change, ”Biden said at the time.

Activists and others have questioned how much the year has really changed since Floyd was killed.

“Every time you turn on the news, there has been a black man who was beaten or killed by police, and they are unarmed,” James Shals, a Minneapolis resident who took part in the demonstration, told Al Jazeera. “We’re not getting the justice we deserve,” Shoals said.

Police Reform Bill

Meanwhile, Biden will host the Floyd family at the White House on Tuesday, U.S. media reported this weekend.

His administration has asked Congress to pass police reform legislation ahead of the anniversary of Floyd’s assassination, but those efforts have stalled and U.S. lawmakers are likely to miss Tuesday’s deadline.

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, who is involved in bilateral negotiations on the bill – known as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act – told CNN’s Union State Program on Sunday that “significant progress” has been made, but no agreement has yet been reached. .

“We’re making good progress, hopeful, but we still have a lot of work to do,” Booker said.

Race justice activists have also pointed out that police violence against blacks has continued since Floyd was killed a year ago, continuing to make calls for action.

Earlier this week, police in the U.S. state of Louisiana released footage the violent arrest of a black man who died in hospital after the incident in May 2019.

Officials originally said Ronald Greene was killed when the car hit a tree after police, but the film shows police dragging Greene out of his car and then hitting him, repeatedly hitting him. The case is subject to a federal civil rights investigation, the Associated Press reported.

“We need to sign legislation that will require the accountability of officers,” said MP Karen Bass, president of the Black Caucus in Congress, which is also involved in negotiations on a police reform bill. he tweeted on Thursday about Greene’s death.

“We really thought my brother’s death would be the latest police brutality case,” Bridgett Floyd said this week as well. “But as we can all see, they’re doing it over and over again.”

He said he was confident the police reform bill would be approved, however, KARE11 reported.

“These police must be held accountable for their actions,” he said. “So they can know that when they break the law, when they take a loved one from someone, they will think twice.”