George Floyd's cousin is keeping his legacy alive 5 years after his murder

As It Happens5:48George Floyd's cousin is keeping his legacy alive 5 years after his murder

Shareeduh McGee is trying to make sure her cousin's murder continues to bring about positive change in the world, even as people in power work to undo the progress that's been made in his name. 

Sunday will mark five years since former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes while Floyd called out for his mother and repeated the words: "I can't breathe."

Video footage of the killing fuelled the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, sparked massive protests around the world and led to the widespread adoption of polices and legislation aimed at combating anti-Black racism and police violence.

Chauvin, meanwhile, was fired from his job and sentenced to more than two decades in prison on a state murder charge and a federal charge of violating Floyd's civil rights.

But now, the momentum has shifted. U.S. President Donald Trump halted police reforms put in place by his predecessor. The U.S. Justice Department has vowed to withdraw lawsuits against police departments whose officers have killed unarmed Black people. And several high-profile Republicans are calling on Trump to pardon Chauvin.

Still, McGee says she hasn't given up hope. This week, she and her family are helping run a festival in her cousin's honour in his hometown of Houston. Here is part of her conversation with As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

Does this anniversary feel different than in the past?

In terms of what the loss means to me, it's really no different. But, you know, it's like anything else. There are times when it hits me very heavily, and there are times when I'm OK and can cope with it. 

You've taken this on to do this festival, to make sure your cousin is not forgotten and the change that has come continues to come…. How are you doing, personally?

Any opportunity for me to kind of provide education or reach people in the community is really therapeutic for me.

I feel like I'm doing something positive to not only make sure that there's a legacy left for George, but also something that can impact the way future generations are treated as it relates to social injustices. 

When you think back to 2020, the protests that followed the murder, what do you still play in your mind?

The thing that sticks out most in my mind is what felt like unity in community. And I mean, global community-wise. Like, there was a collective outrage for what everybody had witnessed at that time. 

There were people who were really ... grieving, as if George was their family member. The pain was very evident and palpable in all the places that we were travelling to. And I did quite a bit [of travelling] because we were going to panel discussions and protests and marches and all kinds of things throughout that year and well into 2021.

So it just felt good for us to know that we weren't alone in how we were feeling at that time.

And now, Shareeduh, given the change in administration in Washington, the fact that they've announced that they want to end the federal government's involvement in reforming local police departments, how does that sit with you?

I think disappointed is probably the best word to describe it. I'm not at all surprised.

What do know is that, at least in Minneapolis, they have communicated that they're going to continue to do those things that they were already in the process of working on for the transformational changes that they feel are necessary with their police department.

And then on top of that, Shareeduh, as you likely know, there are right-wing commentators, right-wing politicians that are bringing up the idea of a pardon for Derek Chauvin.... How are you dealing with that possibility?

My position is still the same. It's one of disappointment.

One of the things we do know is that Derek Chauvin was convicted by the state of Minnesota as well as by the federal government. So the pardon from the federal government does not impact his state sentencing.

Symbolically what it means, you know, is [the federal government] kind of saying … we don't feel that he actually should be held accountable for murdering George. 

But no amount of me fixating on that is going to change what potentially can happen. 

What do you want listeners to know about George Floyd — your cousin, George Floyd? The one you had family memories with?

I just want people to know that he was a whole person who was valued extremely by those of us who loved him.

And there were no conditions on that love for him. Despite any adversities he may have faced in his life, it doesn't change what he meant to us.

Because of that, we are going to continue to push forward to make sure the murder that happened to him, we're not left with just that — that we do have a legacy of change and that we were actually involved in making sure that that change happens.