Floyd spurred broad push for change globally, activists say
People will remember 2020 not just as a year of upheaval over George Floyd, but as a year in which people demanded and took bold action toward systemic change, said Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and activist. This time the victim was George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black father of five captured in a sickening citizen video taking his final breaths under a white officer’s knee. Still, for Wallace, the situation confirmed to him that systemic change has to be deep and structural. “You’ll march for George Floyd,” the activist said, “but would you have hired him?”____Morrison reported from New York City. Ad___Find the AP’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd___Morrison is a member of the AP’s Race and Ethnicity team.
Fiery chants for justice from marchers at Chauvin trial
The protest featured several speakers that ranged from activists of various organizing groups to the parents of Black men killed by police. Sam Martinez, an organizer with Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, said organizers plan similar protests for dates that coincide with significant points in Chauvin's trial, including opening statements, closing arguments and the verdict. “When the people know that there needs to be justice, they'll come out,” Martinez said. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. ___Find AP’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd
Growing tension in Minneapolis as trial looms in Floyd death
Concertina wire sits between fenced barriers outside the Hennepin County Government Center, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Minneapolis, as part of security in preparation for the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin is charged with murder the death of George Floyd during an arrest last May in Minneapolis. Anything less than a murder conviction for Derek Chauvin is likely to test them — and the city — once again. Chauvin faces second-degree murder and manslaughter charges; three other fired officers go on trial in August. But the security going up around the Hennepin County courthouse, City Hall and the jail — all in the heart of downtown — is extraordinary.
As Minneapolis burns, mayor takes heat for the response
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey speaks during a news conference Thursday, May 28, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minn. (Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via AP)MINNEAPOLIS First-term Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey appeared to be doing everything right. Tim Walz like Frey, a Democrat criticized the abject failure of the city's response and said the state had taken control. President Donald Trump took to Twitter to call Frey a very weak Radical Left Mayor and threatened to get involved. The black officer in that case was convicted of third-degree murder and is serving a 12 1/2-year term.
Before Floyd death, activists saw progress on police reforms
Law enforcement officers amassed along Lake Street near Hiawatha Ave. as fires burned after a night of unrest and protests in the death of George Floyd early Friday, May 29, 2020 in Minneapolis. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day. The city appointed its first black chief of police nearly three years ago, after slow progress toward making the department more inclusive. Earlier this year, a statewide task force made up of activists, people representing victims of police brutality, and law enforcement leaders released recommendations for policing reforms. Those included Clark, who was killed during a struggle with two white Minneapolis officers, and Philando Castile, who was fatally shot by a Hispanic suburban police officer during a traffic stop in 2016.