On the one-year anniversary marking the day that their loved one was killed in a harrowing act of police violence, George Floyd‘s family is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden and congressional leaders to mark the solemn moment.
According to family attorney Ben Crump who spoke with NBC News, the day will begin with the family sitting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prior to visiting the White House. While Crump did not confirm which congressional members other than Pelosi the family will be meeting with, the visit comes amidst another push for meaningful law enforcement reform as it stalls in the Senate.
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Earlier this year President Biden urged lawmakers to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act prior to Floyd’s death anniversary, a move that advocacy organization and some activists believe made a first step towards abolishing law enforcement practices and policies which seek to prevent accountability when Black community members are routinely targeted and often killed by those who vow to serve and protect.
The bi-partisan bill was spearheaded by lawmakers Sens. Cory Booker and Tim Scott, and Rep. Karen Bass. It seeks to end practices at the federal level like chokeholds, a form of deadly force. It also advocates for funding to be allocated to departments which outlaw those practices and provides investment in community programs which aim to form now policies and methods around policing.
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is also split in organizer circles, some who believe that the bill does not go far enough to address implicit bias and the foundation of racism embedded within the country which emanates out in the form of state-sanctioned violence.
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Lawmakers have failed in moving the bill to a vote in the Senate after the bill passed the house in March. It will undoubtedly face an uphill battle as at least 10 Republicans would have to vote in favor of the bill for it to pass in the Senate.
The act was written last year in the midst of continued calls for reform. But since that time, the ugliness of police involved deaths have prevailed as many more lives were unjustifiable taken since the country watched former Officer Derek Chauvin kneel on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes.
Those names, Rayshard Brooks, Andre Hill, Daunte Wright, Ma’Khia Bryant, Andrew Brown and so many others have been added to the cannon held up by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Chauvin was found guilty of second and and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter last month. He will be formally sentenced in June and could face life in prison.
Lawmakers say they are hopeful that they will reach a resolution soon.
“While we are still working through our differences on key issues, we continue to make progress toward a compromise and remain optimistic about the prospects of achieving that goal,” Booker, Scott and Bass said in a joint statement on Monday.
George Floyd’s Family Visits White House As Police Reform Bill Stalls In Senate was originally published on newsone.com
