Houston hip hop icons Trae Tha Truth and Bun B, along with the family of George Floyd, united to mobilize a large citywide protest in the name of the unarmed black man that was atrociously killed by a Minnesota police officer on Memorial Day.
Floyd, who has an extensive amount of family members in Houston, Texas, spent his childhood growing up in Third Ward.
The one mile peaceful protest started at Discovery Green and ended at City Hall in downtown Houston. Among the protestors were Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo and Lakewood Church Pastor Joel Osteen, who both led a prayer for the protestors before the march.
Politicians Sylvia Garcia, Lizzie Fletcher, Al Green, Will Hurd and Sheila Jackson Lee also joined the crowd. Horseback trail riders known as “Deep in the street and always on the trail” led the way as the people chanted “no justice, no peace.”
Trae Tha Truth and Bun B led the rally where Mayor Sylvester Turner, activists and Floyd’s family members would speak to the people. Family counsel S. Lee Merritt demanded that there be legislation passed to transform police units across the nation, naming the proposal the “George Floyd Police Reform Bill”.
“We need to take this fight to Washington, D.C. We need to demand a comprehensive reform package for policing in America. It can never be the same again. That means we need to end qualified immunity,” Lee Merritt said. “We need to go to D.C. and tell them we need a new set of laws that respect black lives. Until we do that, we’re going to exercise our people power. People power, political power, economic power!”
Rev. Bill Lawson asked everyone to register and vote in order to change the decision makers that impact their lives everyday.
In tears, Floyd’s brother expressed his gratitude for over 60,000 people that showed up to the protest. Family members also requested that people remain peaceful in honor of Floyd.
At one point, the massive crowd kneeled for 30 seconds of silence. The protest was an exemplary illustration of how an organized protest should be executed.
