New park in Third Ward dedicated to George Floyd nearly one year after his death
HOUSTON - This week, Houston is paying tribute to George Floyd who was murdered nearly one year ago.
On the heels of the one year mark since George Floyd’s death, a new park memorial now sits on the corner of Alabama and Napoleon in the Third Ward.
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Gertrude Stone, who owns the land, is dedicating the park to Floyd.
Across the street painted with a "Black Lives Matter" mural is Floyd’s alma mater, Jack Yates High School.
"This park is for the community. This park and the efforts behind it aim to ensure that nothing like what has brought us here today; what happened on May 25th of last year ever happens again," said Jack Stone, the organizer.
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On Sunday, Houston leaders joined the Stone family for a dedication ceremony to remember the Houston native and reflect on the events that transpired over the last year, including the guilty murder verdict of former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin.
"George Floyd’s death came with a lot of turmoil but at the end of the day, his death has brought some degree of calm and tranquility because the justice system ultimately worked. In one of the most important cases in our nation’s history, the justice system did exactly what we expected it to do," said Adrian Garcia, Harris County Commissioner Pct 2.
"George Floyd now is the human symbol for racial equality in America. And how our justice system treats people like Mr. Floyd is important," said Kim Ogg, Harris County District Attorney.
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Floyd’s sister, LaTonya Floyd, was also in attendance. This week, her family will be flying to Washington to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House.
"I always say one of the greatest days of my life was when the bill was passed in Washington -- the no chokehold bill was passed. And here we go again, this is great. This is going to be a park and violence is everywhere. Violence is everywhere and it must stop. And we won’t stop fighting until it does," Floyd said.