Jacob Frey turns 40 today. If that sounds like a milestone, it’s nothing compared to being a double chai when he was elected one of Minneapolis’ youngest mayors ever just shy of four years ago. And it completely pales in comparison to 2020, when the murder of George Floyd thrust the city and its young leader into the international spotlight.
Wavy-haired and affable, Frey could be the grandson of any bubbe and zayde. He grew up the son of professional modern ballet dancers in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. After graduating law school and settling in at a big firm in the Twin Cities, he entered politics. His adopted city once known more for musical icon Prince and having the largest number of theater seats per capita outside of New York City is now ground zero for a worldwide racial reckoning.
It allegedly started with a counterfeit $20 bill, a pack of cigarettes and a viral video of a Black man dying in police custody in Minnesota.
But the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, just one year ago has echoed far from the streets of Minneapolis and into national calls for police reform and renewed efforts of racial justice throughout the United States.
During the past year, journalists and writers for Deseret News have reported on those difficult conversations of social justice and policing. Some of those stories are found here, and they aim to capture the pain and heartbreak of loss and the generations-old sting of racism.
An attorney for one of the former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd alleges that a medical examiner was coerced to change their findings.
Updated: 4:01 AM MDT May 9, 2021 Dakin Andone, CNN Members of George Floyd s family on Saturday praised the news that four former Minneapolis police officers will face federal charges in connection to his death, saying they were very grateful. Floyd s nephew Brandon Williams said during a news conference held not far from the Houston apartments where his uncle grew up that the indictments meant the world to his family. If you saw that video, it s self explanatory. We all know that it was a murder and a torture in broad daylight, Williams said, referring to bystander video that showed the officers restraining George Floyd in late May 2020, with one kneeling on his uncle s neck. We all know that his civil rights were violated. But this gives us hope, he said. This lets us know that there is change on the way if we keep pressing and mashing the gas for people in leadership to pass laws. We need police reform. There s no way the color of your skin or your race