HOUSTON — Saturday, Oct. 14 would have been George Floyd's 50th birthday.
The Houston native was killed in 2020 by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. For more than nine minutes, Chauvin, a white officer, pressed his knee to the neck of George, a Black man, who gasped, “I can’t breathe,” echoing Eric Garner's last words in 2014. Video footage of George's May 25, 2020, murder was so agonizing to watch that demands for change came from across the country.
To celebrate his birthday, George's family decided to give back to people in need in downtown Houston.
George's sister and niece said he was a giver who was always helping people in need so spending his birthday doing good was the perfect way to honor his legacy.
"He would've been really pleased," said LaTonya Floyd, George's sister "He would've been smiling cause that's just him.
"George was a gentle giant and that's who he is and that's what we want to do today," said Bianca Floyd, George's niece.
George's death sparked massive protests that erupted around the world and brought about serious conversations regarding race and policing in this country. George's family said they're still pushing for Congress to pass the police reform bill named in honor of George.
Click here to view our coverage of the death of George Floyd.