Five years ago, the world witnessed the death of George Floyd, a Black man murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis. For the country, it became a rallying cry against police brutality and civil rights for African-Americans. But for many Houstonians, Floyd’s death cut even deeper. He was a Black man raised in the Third Ward at Cuney Homes, Houston’s oldest public housing project. He liked to make everyone laugh, shoot hoops and throw a football around his neighborhood. He shined as an athlete and was the first of his siblings to finish high school at Jack Yates. He loved hip hop music and became friends with the legendary DJ Screw. He was a Houstonian, just like us.
I’ll never forget how thousands of Houstonians took to the streets to protest his death. “Say his name!” “George Floyd!” they chanted as they marched to City Hall. Days later, over 6,300 would stand in the sizzling heat to view Floyd’s body at The Fountain of Praise. I covered the memorial as a reporter for the Houston Chronicle. I remember interviewing a 13-year-old girl who hoped she could raise her own children in a different environment. “I want them to know that everything doesn’t have to be like this,” she told me. As we finished, her mother cried.
Now, in 2025, as a Houstonian and Black American, I’m wondering what mark has Floyd left on Houston? It’s complicated. A task force came up with over 100 ways to reform the Houston Police Department after his death. But today city and police officials can’t say how many of these recommendations were adopted. Just days before the anniversary of his death, a mural honoring Floyd was destroyed. Some loved ones worry that his legacy is starting to fade, and it seems that just remembering is an act of defiance.
But I believe the heartbeat of George Floyd can never truly fade from Houston. Over the weekend, Houstonians gathered at a four-day festival inspired by Floyd. On Sunday at Cuney Homes, his younger brother Philonise Floyd said he still thinks about him everyday, adding Floyd was “the flame that set this world on fire.” And I believe that the conversations Floyd ignited around race, police brutality, and social justice will continue. That what Martin Luther King, Jr. said during the civil rights movement still rings true today: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” For Houstonians, and for myself, Floyd’s tragic death still burns deeply in our hearts. And we must work hard to keep his legacy alive.
Want to honor Floyd? His family will gather in Galveston to pay tribute to his legacy on Juneteenth weekend 🫶🏾
