George Floyd’s Murder Was “Clarion Call” to Defund Police. What’s Changed in Year Since His Death?

George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020, sparked a global uprising against systemic racism and police brutality and put the spotlight on decades-long movements dedicated to abolition and criminal justice reform.

Memorial events and marches are celebrating George Floyd’s life and commemorate the first anniversary of his murder, and President Joe Biden is hosting some of his family at the White House as negotiations continue in Congress over legislation that bears his name, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Monifa Bandele, who sits on the steering committee for Communities United for Police Reform and is an organizer with the Movement for Black Lives, says the racial justice uprising that followed Floyd’s death served as a “clarion call” to defund police and reinvest those resources.

“What you see emerging from the communities is a much more powerful demand to actually shift the realities so that our children are not marching again in another 50 years,” Bandele says.

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