George Floyd was an African American man who was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020. He was memorialized via events, protests, artwork installations, organizations, official designations, and campaigns.
Funeral services
A public memorial, with Al Sharpton delivering the eulogy, was held June 4, 2020, at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Many state and local officials attended, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo. The service also drew national officials and civil rights leaders, such as Martin Luther King III, Reverend Jesse Jackson, as well as several celebrity figures.
A public viewing and a family memorial was held in Raeford, North Carolina, on June 6, near Floyd's hometown.
Floyd's family held a public memorial in Houston, Texas, on June 8 that was livestreamed globally, and a private service on June 9. Professional boxer Floyd Mayweather paid for the services. Floyd's body was on public view on June 8 in his hometown of Houston. Former Vice President and the 2020 presumptive and eventual Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, met with the Floyd family privately and gave a video message at the funeral.
Floyd is buried next to his mother at Houston Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Pearland, Texas.
Official declarations
On June 9, 2020, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued a statewide proclamation declaring 8 minutes 46 seconds of silence at 11:00 a.m. CDT to coincide with the beginning of Floyd's funeral in Houston. On May 24, 2021, on the one-year anniversary of Floyd's murder, Walz declared a statewide moment of silence for 9 minutes and 29 seconds for 1:00 p.m. On October 14, 2022, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey declared it George Floyd Day on the date of what would have been Floyd's 49th birthday.
Organizations
George Floyd Global Memorial is a 501(c)3 organization in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a headquarters office on the 3500 block of Chicago Avenue. The organization acts as a curator of the demonstrator-installed art exhibits at George Floyd Square. Its mission is to inventory, collect, and preserve the public art installations and the approximately 5,000 offerings that were left by visitors.
The George Floyd Memorial Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by George Floyd's sister, Bridgett Floyd, in Mooresville, North Carolina.
The George Floyd Community Benevolence Fund, later renamed the Ward 8 Community Benevolence Fund, is a non-profit organization of Floyd's family and estate. The fund was seeded from $500,000 of the $27 million wrongful death settlement between the City of Minneapolis and George Floyd's family. The fund has awarded grants of between $5,000 and $25,000 to organizations and businesses to the neighborhood surrounding the East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue South in Minneapolis where Floyd was murdered.
Protests and campaigns
The George Floyd protests began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020. Protests were held in the United States and in other countries in reaction to Floyd's murder and in his memory. The street intersection where Floyd was murdered was held by demonstrators during the George Floyd Square occupied protest.
"Justice for George Floyd”, a Change.org petition, as launched on May 30, 2020. As of early July 2020, the petition had nearly 19 million signatures, making it the most signed petition in the history of the platform.
Official George Floyd Memorial Fund was established by Philonise Floyd, George Floyd's brother, in the aftermath of the murder to cover funeral expenses and education expenses for Floyd's children. One week after the tragedy and only four days after the start of the fund, it raised $7 million, putting it in ranking as one of the most highly funded GoFundMe campaigns at the time.
Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks was an event held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 2020. The march was organized by the National Action Network, and was led by Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III. The march's speakers included relatives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake, and others.
Scholarships
Colleges and universities which have created scholarships in Floyd's name included North Central University, Alabama State, Oakwood University, Missouri State University, Southeast Missouri State, Ohio University, Buffalo State College, Copper Mountain College, and others.