Remembering George Floyd: Young people fight against racial violence and demand justice for all

It has been a year since we watched George Floyd, a Black man, die beneath the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer.

The cell phone footage of his brutal death sparked global protests that raged through the summer, igniting a long overdue conversation about racism in America.

For the last 12 months, young people have helped propel this country’s multifaceted racial reckoning. They have marched through the streets, supported equity in pandemic-era classrooms, kneeled on ball fields, created powerful activist art, spoken out on social media, and stood up for justice in spaces where young folks gather.

While former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of Floyd’s murder last month, the fight against systems that support racism, both implicit and explicit, is far from over.

Today as we remember George Floyd and the movement that he inspired, we offer these powerful images as a reminder that the next generation is watching.

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• Students from Roosevelt high school participate in a statewide walkout on April 19, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Students from high schools across Minneapolis gathered at the U.S. Bank Stadium to stand in solidarity against racial injustice and honor the lives of George Floyd and Daunte Wright. Brandon Bell / Getty Images
• A group of boys poses next to a mural of George Floyd during a block party celebrating Juneteenth outside of the Scott Food Mart on June 19, 2020 in Houston, Texas. Mark Felix / AFP via Getty Images
• A protester fist bumps a police officer as a young boy raises his fist during a demonstration on May 31, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images
• A woman comforts a boy who was pepper sprayed during a protest on May 29, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. Michael Ciaglo / Getty Images
• Demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police face off with Denver Police officers outside the Colorado Capitol. Hyoung Chang / The Denver Post
• Students gather outside the University of Minnesota Police Department for a die-in on June 07, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Brandon Bell / Getty Images
• Two boys hold up the peace sign in front of a painting of George Floyd at a memorial site near Cup Foods on June 14, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen / Getty Images
• A boy stands with a sign during a demonstration on June 24, 2020 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Brandon Bell / Getty Images
• Denver South High School student, Graça Jovelino, 16, a recent immigrant from Angola, holds her drawing of Ahmaud Arbery, left, George Floyd, center, and Breonna Taylor. right, during a 9 minute and 29 second moment of silence at Denver South High School on April 21, 2021. Andy Cross / The Denver Post
• A child sits on his father’s shoulders at a gathering at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue following the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial on April 20, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota Brandon Bell / Getty Images
• People march during an inaugural remembrance demonstration for George Floyd on May 23, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Brandon Bell / Getty Images