Minneapolis, MN – On a rainy Tuesday evening, October 14, folks gathered at the Hennepin County Government Plaza to commemorate what would have been George Floyd’s 51st birthday.

Angela Harrelson, the aunt of George Floyd, kicked off the program and asked for everyone to stay united in fighting for justice and that she was grateful for the folks who showed up to celebrate her nephew’s birthday.

Myrka Zambrano, an organizer with Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), noted that it took almost 32 years for Martin Luther King’s birthday to be a national holiday, and 150 for Juneteenth to be recognized as a national holiday, but only nine days for Congress to recognize Charlie Kirk’s birthday as a National Day of Remembrance

This action was in response to a decision by congress to designate October 14 as a National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk, a right-wing podcaster, who was shot during an appearance at a Utah University last month.

Simone Hunter spoke on the failures of the police department to take seriously the threats to her sister Mariah Samuels, who was killed by her ex in September. She had called the police several times and even had an order of protection from him, but was not taken seriously by Minneapolis police. This is similar to what happened to Allison Lussier. Lussier was an indigenous woman who was allegedly killed by her ex as well, but MPD Chief O’Hara falsely told media she died of a drug overdose, despite the medical examiner saying otherwise.

Jae Yates, an organizer with Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, pointed this out in their speech, that these women were dehumanized by the Minneapolis Police Department, and their deaths like so many others could have been prevented. Yates demanded that Minneapolis put control of the police department in the hands of the people of Minneapolis, with their campaign to establish an all-elected Civilian Police Accountability Commission.

Ebony Dobbins spoke of how MPD “played ding dong ditch” at her home, then climbed through the window of her seven-year-old son’s bedroom and terrorized her family under the guise of a child and animal welfare check. Dobbins believes that she was targeted by police for a case involving her grandmother over 23 years ago, in which she was shot and killed by MPD.

This rally was put on by the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice.

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