Rev. Al Sharpton and a young activist discuss the enduring social justice effects of George Floyd’s death five years on

NEW YORK — Almost five years following George Floyd’s passing, community leaders and a new wave of youthful activists are contemplating the ongoing efforts required for racial and social equity.

Christian Matthew distinctly remembers the emotional response evoked by the viral video that circulated widely on social networks: Floyd’s tragic death at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin while struggling to breathe.

“I was 15 in 2020, and I felt a deep urge to take action due to the prevailing circumstances, spurred by what we saw and experienced with George Floyd, a truly horrendous event,” the young advocate expressed.

“I can’t breathe.” Those three words became a rally cry that Matthew says have grown silent in the eye of work that still has to get done.

“It’s sad because there’s a lot of things: George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the John Lewis voting rights bill. There are just so many things that have not been passed and we can’t continue to allow that to happen,” Matthew said.

For one of civil rights’ most devoted disciples, Rev. Al Sharpton led the charge for justice alongside Floyd’s family and his brother Terrence.

“Anybody that has any surface view of civil rights knows there are tragedies you can organize around, and then there’s going to be backlash,” Sharpton said.

Floyd’s death sparked a nationwide reckoning during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving millions of people outraged. Protesters at the time marched for days, spilling into streets and shutting down bridges in the heated summer of 2020 over police conduct and racism.

“I think that the fact that we were in the pandemic and everybody was home and all you could do is watch TV and the news, people said, ‘No, this this is crazy.’ This tape of watching this man literally begging for his life and it didn’t mean anything,” Sharpton said.

Meanwhile, Terrence described finding comfort in the immense support he and his family received after his brother’s death.

“How the community came around me and consoled me and talked to me, and then the marches and stuff, and how they really stood up for not just my brother, but for the rights of black people as a whole,” he said. “You know, I remember the youth. That’s why I do things for the youth and I try to be there for them now because I seen them back then in 2020, really out here boots on the ground, in the streets protesting and really not giving up on what was going on to us.”

Two years later, a Minneapolis jury would convict Chauvin, sentencing him to over two decades behind bars.

“Never seen full justice, always the officers always got off and stuff like that, but finally we saw justice and I was just happy,” Floyd’s brother said.

Sharpton remembers being emotional after hearing the conviction.

“Guilty, guilty, guilty, three times. I just broke down and cried, and it was not only because I was that close to the family — I had not seen that in the years that I’ve been out here,” Sharpton said.

As the fight for social justice in the country continues, the next class of young activists want to see change with a consistent fight.

“We got to keep going on what works, we got to organize people to keep resisting. This is not a sprint its a struggle, the question is at the end, what did you stand for?” Sharpton said.

“My hope is that we truly prepare the next generation. I think that I’m not nervous, but I’m a little concerned with our next generation. I don’t feel that they are truly aware of what’s going on, and I think that is going to take some true education in the homes, in our schools. We have to build up this much of the nation of leaders to continue in the fight,” Matthew said.