ST PAUL, Minn. — Gov. Tim Walz asked Minnesotans for a moment of silence on Tuesday, marking one year since the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 at 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis.
The governor called for silence to begin at 1 p.m. and to continue for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, the same amount of time that Floyd spent under the knee of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, according to prosecutors, leading to Floyd's death.
Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter last month in connection with Floyd's death. Chauvin is scheduled to be sentenced in the case in late June. Three other former MPD officers are scheduled to go to trial next year on aiding and abetting charges, and all four face additional federal civil rights charges.
“George Floyd’s murder ignited a global movement and awakened many Minnesotans and people around the world to the systemic racism that our Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color have known for centuries,” Gov. Walz said in his proclamation calling for the moment of silence. “On April 20, 2021, a jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of George Floyd’s murder. This historic verdict was a step in the right direction, but our work to dismantle systematic racism and discrimination has not ended. True justice for George Floyd will come only through real, systemic change to prevent acts like this from happening again—when every member of every community, no matter their race, is safe, valued, and protected.”