‘He’s Gonna Change The World’: George Floyd’s Family Remembers The Man They Lost

This article talks about how important it is to remember George Floyd as more than a symbol of police violence against Black people. Color Of Change Chief of Campaigns Arisha Hatch underscored that telling the full story of a person’s humanity matters, especially when mourning a death as public as Floyd’s. She is quoted, “Seeing Black people as fully human is at the core of all of the fights that we’re in. It’s our duty, our obligation to fully realize that.”

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‘No Justice, No Peace’: Protesters Set Fires in Wake of George Floyd’s Death

Minneapolis protests boiled over as protesters got inside an MPD building, setting it on fire and forcing officers to evacuate. Scott Roberts, COC’s Director of Criminal Justice Campaigns is quoted, “The people of Minneapolis are not just protesting the public execution of George Floyd; they’re fighting for their lives. Mr. Floyd’s death — in addition to the recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor — is yet another reminder of American law enforcement’s toxic tradition of abuse, negligence, violence, and discrimination toward Black people.”

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Color of Change: New Charges In The Death of George Floyd Are a Step Toward Justice

COLOR OF CHANGE: NEW CHARGES IN THE DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD ARE A STEP TOWARD JUSTICE   Rashad Robinson, President of Color Of Change, issued the following statement in response to new charges announced in the death of George Floyd:  “After eight days of sustained protests in Minneapolis, across the U.S., and around the world, […]

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George Floyd Was Murdered. We Must Not Be Silent—Here’s How to Help

George Floyd is yet another reminder of the racism that is embedded in our country. Let’s not forget Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and the countless other Black people who are killed on a daily basis. Here’s what you can do. Call Minneapolis DA Mike Freeman and email Minnesota officials demanding that all four officers be charged. And text “FLOYD” to 55156 to join the 3M+ people who have already signed Color of Change petition demanding justice.

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George Floyd’s Death in Amy Klobuchar’s Home State Renews Scrutiny of Her Criminal Justice Record

Amy Klobuchar has long been seen as a top contender to be Joe Biden’s running mate, with a glaring liability: her standing with Black voters. George Floyd’s death, in Klobuchar’s home county, has once again raised her record as a prosecutor and brought up questions of whether she’s the right choice. Klobuchar is one of the only Democratic candidates who refused to sit down for an interview with Color Of Change during the primaries.

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Racial Intolerance & Hate No Longer Banned on Coinbase

Crypto platform Coinbase has gutted all its anti-racist safeguards. In August 2021 the company made changes that flew under the radar, removing a promise not to “incite, threaten, facilitate, promote, or encourage hate, racial intolerance, or violent acts against others” from its terms of service. Color Of Change Vice President Jade Magnus Ogunnaike says this “sends a clear message: Coinbase does not care about the safety and well-being of Black people who use their site.” After George Floyd’s murder, Coinbase did the opposite of many companies voicing their support for side racial justice; it banned internal discussions of political issues, prompting cries of racism from Black employees. Jade says, “Without strong content moderation policies, Coinbase will continue to put Black consumers, their own employees and stakeholders in harm’s way.”

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Biden’s on a Winning Streak: So Why Are Voters So Negative?

Even with some major first term victories under President Biden’s belt — including the Inflation Reduction Act, America’s most ambitious legislation ever on climate — enthusiasm for the president is lackluster from Democrats and Republicans alike. There have been frustrations over police reform and votings rights, in particular the failure to get the George Floyd Policing Act passed, which could cause disillusionment among Black voters. Activists say Biden needs to more aggressively call out the Republicans who are standing in the way of progress. Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson is quoted. “There’s a reason why we don’t have those pieces of legislation and it’s not President Biden. But if he doesn’t tell a story for people about why we didn’t win those things, who stood in the way of those things, who is profiting from preventing those things, he will be blamed by people.”

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Biden Pledged Police Reform, But a Difficult Path Ahead

NPR recently spoke with Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson about President Biden’s State of the Union promise to bring accountability to policing. “This is about actually having a conversation with the American people about power.” Biden signed an executive order requiring federal law enforcement agencies to ban chokeholds, restrict no-knock warrants, mandate the use of body cameras — but it doesn’t go anywhere as far as the George Floyd Policing Act would have. “We also need to know if the Republicans who stood up for Tyre Nichols’ family in the well of the Congress and clapped for them are willing to actually do more than clap,” Rashad says. “The thing that gives me hope is the progress we’re seeing in so many local communities. The work to elect reform-minded district attorneys, the work to try new things around traffic stops and interactions with mental health advocates.”

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Biden, Black Caucus Agree on Path Forward on Police Reform

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus left a meeting with President Biden and Vice President Harris with an agreement on how to address brutal beatings and killings by police in the wake of Tyre Nichols’s death. At his funeral in Memphis, Harris said the White House would nothing settle for nothing less than ambitious legislation to address police brutality. When the George Floyd Policing Act stalled, Biden passed an executive order revising federal law enforcement policy on use of force. But steps such as making it easier to sue officers for misconduct allegations have remained elusive. Details of the agreement haven’t been disclosed and any reforms will have to pass through Congress. Color Of Change President Rashad Robison is quoted. “We haven’t gotten even a fraction of the changes that are necessary. We haven’t gotten the kind of structural change to policing that is required.”

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FAST COMPANY: Color Of Change 5th Most Innovative Co. of 2022

Color Of Change once again made Fast Company’s Most Innovative list, coming in at #5 for our work to hold businesses to their racial justice promises. A year after the uprisings for George Floyd, we launched Beyond the Statement—demanding racial equity audits from tech and Hollywood companies, and calling on Google for promising $100 million for Black creators while preventing advertisers from supporting BLM-related videos on YouTube. We persuaded financial services companies to eliminate practices that disproportionately harm Black consumers and get companies in majority-Black cities to initiate jobs and apprenticeship programs. To drive culture change , we launched #ChangeHollywood, #ChangeMusic, and #ChangeFashion—with roadmaps to help companies create more equity and tools like the Directory of Anti-Racist Trainers.

The full list is at https://bit.ly/3PnyXNb

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CRIME REPORT OP-ED: Why a ‘Police-Only’ Approach to Public Safety Fails Black Communities

Malachi Robinson, Color of Change’s Criminal Justice Campaigns Director, writes about the convictions against the three of the Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd’s death. “A federal jury last month finally recognized what we have always known to be true: the rules of policing are what make U.S. police forces racist, not just individual officers.” Those rules need to change. We now see, he argues, that those changes are not going to come from the Biden administration. And despite a handful of convictions against abusive police, killings by police have gone up in the last year. So what would real justice look like? For starters, follow the money. And invest in Black communities like we currently invest in police departments.

Full article at https://bit.ly/3sfMOLy

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Biden Struck Out on Police Reform. Is Trump’s Remaining Policy Enough?

What has the federal government done to address violent and racist policing since George Floyd was killed two years ago? With Biden halting a proposed policing order, which itself was a seriously scaled down plan B after failing to get enough votes to pass the George Floyd Act, Trump’s modest changes are the most significant federal policing moves we’ve seen. Under Trump’s order, police agencies must have specific policies on the use of force to receive certain federal grants. Advocates who were promised sweeping reforms are frustrated. Color Of Change’s Senior Director of Criminal Justice Campaigns Scott Roberts explains, “Trump’s order is not significant in and of itself, but it exposes how little Biden has done to deliver on his promises around this issue, and how quickly his administration has pivoted away from this movement for police reform that helped sweep them into office.” Many believe without the mass protests that galvanized millions of Black voters, Biden would not necessarily have won in 2020.

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