Friend of George Floyd: He Was an Advocate for Change in Marginalized Communities

Over 60,000 people filled the streets of Houston to protest and demand justice at a memorial Tuesday in the hometown of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who was killed by Minneapolis police May 25. Floyd, who is described by those who knew him as a “gentle giant,” was an active member of the church Resurrection Houston and was regularly involved in community outreach in the Third Ward, a historically Black neighborhood in Houston. He lived there for most of his life before moving to Minneapolis to seek out other work a few years ago. Corey Paul, a hip-hop artist and friend of Floyd's, recalls how he welcomed him and others from Resurrection Houston into the Third Ward as visitors and generously paved the way as a generous community member. Floyd was “already preaching peace, love, God, unity, advocating against gun violence,” Paul tells "Democracy Now!" The ongoing fight to hold the police officers who killed Floyd accountable and demand broader reforms shows “the lack of reverence and respect for those change-makers that maybe don't look like what we think they should look like.”