MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In remembrance of George Floyd, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has ordered all flags bearing the Shelby County Government seal to fly at half-staff from sundown on Monday, June 8, 2020, through sundown on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, MN, on May 25, 2020, when a police officer pinned him to the ground and blocked his airways for over eight minutes. Witnesses pleaded for the officer to stop while three additional police officers witnessed the event but did not intervene. The event was captured on camera and shared publicly. Protests erupted across the country, including in Shelby County, where peaceful demonstrators lifted up their concerns and demanded action. Public and private memorial events have been scheduled across the country in honor of George Floyd.
During a recent COVID-19 Task Force briefing, Mayor Lee Harris concluded by saying, in part, “The murder of George Floyd, captured on video, tears back the veil on racial injustice, an issue that seems to worsen by the day. African Americans have been too often racially profiled, pulled over, surveilled, and thrown in handcuffs. I understand the pain and frustration of these experiences, because I have had these experiences. All of us feel the echoes of 1968.”
Read the Executive Order here. A socially distanced memorial event has been scheduled for June 8, 2020, at 10:00 AM. More details are forthcoming.