Peoria NAACP president Marvin Hightower says not enough has been done to curb police violence against Black men since the murder of George Floyd one year ago.
“I'm not treating it as an anniversary because an anniversary gives the connotation of something happy, and this is definitely far from that. But since his murder there have been others, where things like this keep happening to black men,” Hightower said Tuesday, pointing to the police-involved deaths of Daunte Wright, Andre Hill, Andrew Brown Jr., and Ronald Greene.
Hightower said the U.S. Senate needs to pass the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act to show the federal government is committed to curbing police brutality.
“It seems like we're at a stalemate and we can't take stock where we are. It needs to move forward, and the only way that can happen is to pass this piece of legislation,” he said. “Then we will know that our federal government is serious. Then we can continue to look at it year by year and that will be our measure, what happens within that year.”
Hightower said the worldwide protests of Floyd's murder and the conviction of Derek Chauvin provided a springboard for change.
“I believe that number was 26 million (protesters) and that's why there was all the attention to this, and because it was captured on video, people saw that George Floyd was murdered,” said Hightower, adding that some of Chauvin’s police colleagues testifying against him was pivotal. “That definitely gave us a springboard to move forward.
“However, we cannot rest; we have to continue on until we get what's needed to make sure that the police officers do their jobs, (and) be held accountable and be held responsible for their actions.”
