Biden meets with George Floyd's family one year after murder
May 25, 2021
The family has called on the White House and lawmakers to pass police reform legislation.
Joe Biden hailed the Floyd family's 'extraordinary courage' over the past yearImage: Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS
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Relatives of George Floyd met with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday at the White House, exactly one year after the 46-year-old African-American man was killed by former police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman to hold the office, also took part in the meeting.
Biden discussed the progress of the proposed George Floyd Justice in Policing Act during the gathering.
The president wants lawmakers to finish work on the legislation overhauling police practices, both in the House and in the Senate.
Biden's preferred deadline to pass the law by Tuesday has already expired. The bill includes provisions to set up a national registry of police misconduct, a ban on racial and religious profiling by law enforcement and an overhaul of qualified immunity for police officers.
"It was great — he is a genuine guy — it was a pleasure to have the chance to meet with him when we have the opportunity to," Philonise Floyd told reporters on Capitol Hill after the meeting at the White House.
Biden said he believes Floyd's family was "pleased" with the meeting.
Earlier on Tuesday, President Biden took to Twitter to praise the Floyd family for showing "extraordinary courage" in the year since Floyd's murder.
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"Last month’s conviction was a step towards justice — but we cannot stop there," Biden wrote, referring to Chauvin being found guilty of Floyd's murder last month. "We face an inflection point. We have to act."
In Floyd's hometown of Minneapolis, there were reports of gunfire near the place where Floyd died, now known as George Floyd Square.
One person was hospitalized with a gunshot wound. The shooting happened about 3.5 miles (about 5.6 kilometers) away from the park where the "Celebration of Life" was being held.
Remembering George Floyd through street art
George Floyd's murder by police officer Derek Chauvin inspired street artists around the world to express their support with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Image: Octavio Jones/REUTERS
A global icon
Former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd. The Black man's brutal death in May 2020 had sparked a worldwide movement of solidarity that was expressed through protests and art. This mural features George Floyd's face and the words, "I can breathe now," a reference to his last words as Chauvin was kneeling on his neck: "I can't breathe."
Image: Octavio Jones/REUTERS
Many faces, one message
Black Lives Matter: In Minneapolis, George Floyd's murder was followed by violent protests against police brutality toward African Americans. On this wall on Hennepin Avenue, the city commemorates not only George Floyd, but also African Americans Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice and Philando Castile, who were also killed by police officers.
Image: Mark Hertzberg/ZUMAPRESS/picture alliance
Street art in Gaza
George Floyd became a global figure, depicted in street art around the world. Here in Gaza City, a woman walks past a large mural linking Floyd to the Black Lives Matter movement. Chauvin, the police officer who pressed his knee on Floyd's neck, now faces
up to 40 years in jail after being found guilty on all murder charges.
Street art can also be used to mark a memorial site, as seen here in front of this painting of George Floyd, which was also set up in Minnesota in January 2021. Mourners left flowers and political messages in front of his portrait at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue South, where Floyd died.
Image: Tim Evans/NurPhoto/picture alliance
Black Lives Matter in NYC
A temporary Black Lives Matter mural in Manhattan, New York City, displays names of Black people who have been victims of police violence. The Black Lives Matter protests raged around the country in the summer of 2020, gathering hundreds of thousands of demonstrators.
Image: picture alliance
An inauguration mural
In the US capital, Washington, multiple murals commemorate the Black Lives Matter movement and show the faces of those who have died in connection with police brutality. The use of the patriotic colors, red, white and blue, is particularly striking here.
Image: picture alliance
Remembering the victim
This work of street art featuring George Floyd's face is located in Venezuela, in the town of Valencia. It was commissioned by the city's mayor. The microphone is a reminder that Floyd had also made a name for himself as a rapper.
Image: Juan Carlos Hernandez/ZUMAPRESS/picture alliance
'I can't breathe'
George Floyd died after a police officer pressed his knee on Floyd's neck on May 25, 2020. Throughout the 8-minute, 46-second incident, Floyd stated several times that he could not breathe. His last words were painted onto the artwork in Berlin's Mauerpark.
Image: Alexander Borais/Zoonar/picture alliance
A call for solidarity
In Cologne, Germany's fourth largest city, you can find this painting honoring the political struggle of the Black Lives Matter movement. In many major German cities in the summer of 2020, people took to the streets in solidarity with the BLM movement.
Image: Christoph Hardt/Geisler-Fotopress/picture alliance
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In New York, local leaders and politicians, including Reverend Al Sharpton and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, knelt for more than nine minutes in Floyd's memory.
What did former President Obama say about the anniversary?
Former US President Barack Obama, the first African-American to hold the nation's highest office, said Tuesday that the last year since Floyd's death has given people "reasons to hope."
Obama, writing on Twitter, said that "more people are seeing the world more clearly" after Floyd's murder.
Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes as he arrested him in a row over the use of a counterfeit $20 bill.
The killing sparked a wave of anti-racism protests around the world, with many cities on Tuesday holding commemorative demonstrations to honor the 46-year-old Black man.
"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," Obama said. "But the last year has also given us reasons to hope."
