Today marks 5 years since former police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in broad daylight in Minneapolis. Chauvin is currently serving a sentence of 22.5 years following criminal convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 242 for willfully depriving George Floyd of his federal rights, and under state charges for (1) unintentional second-degree murder, (2) third-degree murder, and (3) second-degree manslaughter.
Legal Defense Fund (LDF) President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson issued the following statement:
“George Floyd’s murder unleashed an unprecedented racial reckoning and a historic act of protest on a global scale. Millions of people worldwide demanded the eradication of racial discrimination and police violence. The clarion call to remedy anti-Black racism created an astounding ripple effect that spread throughout the United States, in both the private sector and government institutions. As a consequence, we witnessed significant markers of racial progress, from police accountability legislation to organizational commitments to pursue racial equity initiatives. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, 170 Confederate symbols — which have long been associated with the enslavement of Black people — were renamed or removed in a long overdue repudiation of racism. George Floyd forced Americans to confront their tolerance for systemic racism and to reflect on their passive complicity in perpetuating and maintaining structural inequalities.
“A mere five years later, the Trump administration is actively undoing this progress and seeks to erase George Floyd’s memory and the movement that has grown in his name. Specifically, the Trump Administration is punishing those who pursue racial justice and reverting to an aggressive and militarized policing system. However, the Trump administration does not have the power to rewrite history or silence every voice. Today, we remember George Floyd and the millions of people — of all races and all walks of life — who took to the streets to demand justice following his murder. And LDF continues its unrelenting fight to create an America where all people, including all Black people, are safe and where no one suffers wanton violence at the hands of police.
“Our hearts go out to George Floyd’s family and friends on this difficult day, as they continue their fight to secure justice. America will never be safe until we put an end to racialized police violence and adopt a public safety system that respects the inherent dignity of Black people.”
Through litigation, policy advocacy, research, and community organizing, LDF works to create a public safety system that invests in communities, respects the dignity of all people, and protects the right to engage in racial justice protests while ensuring free and safe neighborhoods for everyone. Learn more about our work here and here.
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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.
