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00:00Five years since those three words triggered a global rallying cry for racial equality and justice.
00:12The murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on his neck for nine minutes,
00:18led to some of the largest demonstrations ever seen.
00:24Black Lives Matter became one of the biggest protest movements in U.S. history.
00:30And a long battle for police reform followed.
00:34But half a decade on, officials say Floyd's death is still an open wound in the U.S.
00:40And so to say that nothing's changed is not true.
00:43But I have to give a little bit of deference to people who are not very encouraged by the amount of the rate of change
00:51because the George Floyd Justice for Policing Act has not passed through Congress.
00:55In March, Cruz removed the Black Lives Matter mural painted on a street leading to the White House in 2020
01:03after a Republican lawmaker threatened to withhold millions of dollars in federal funds.
01:09So I felt it was important to come down here and just see it one last time before it went away.
01:13And just days before the five-year anniversary, the U.S. Justice Department dismissed police reform
01:19and oversight agreements in Minneapolis and Louisville.
01:22There are even fears the Trump administration could pardon the ex-officer who killed Floyd,
01:27currently serving more than 20 years in prison.
01:29But at the former crime scene, a three-day festival for remembrance and solidarity.
01:37Many locals say lives were changed that day.
01:39And while state progress may lag, community spirit has not.
01:44They will commemorate Floyd's death with a concert, a self-care fair, a Sunday service and more.