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.
(RNS) Los Angeles pastor Stephen “Cue” Jn-Marie is quick to point out the movement for Black lives and Black Lives Matter has been going on for eight years, but he believes it was “an act of God” that transformed it last year into the largest social movement in U.S. and world history.
“Who can articulate that, but a faith leader?” he added.
For Jn-Marie, who founded the Church Without Walls in Skid Row, the Black Lives Matter movement is valid without faith leaders but, he said, clergy help “people see God’s heart for the movement.”
One year ago, the death of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer galvanized the nation and eventually much of the world into months of historic protests against police brutality and systemic racism and in support of Black lives. Clergy were often front and center in these protests and their clarion call not only to politicians but also to religious leaders sparked a racial reckoning within churches, synagogues and m
Faith leaders praise Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdicts, acknowledge work ahead
Religious leaders and faith-based organizations reacted swiftly to the verdicts. People cheer after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn. Former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
April 20, 2021
(RNS) As the judge thanked jurors for their “heavy-duty jury service,” reactions had already begun to the three guilty verdicts in the trial of former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.
Nine months later, fencing comes down around the church where Trump stood with a Bible
Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post
March 1, 2021
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A worker on Monday straps fencing that surrounded St. John s Church in Washington.Washington Post photo by Matt McClain.
WASHINGTON - H Street downtown was nearly deserted and few people noticed Monday morning when workers at St. John s Church took down dozens of sections of black steel mesh fencing, a barrier that had gone up during the tumultuous summer of 2020 when the church wound up at the center of national debates about race, religion and security.
Across a small park from the White House, St. John s had been known for decades as the president s church for its elite congregation, but in June made news worldwide. As protests against police brutality and racism boiled across the country, someone threw a flammable substance through a basement window at the church, igniting a small fire. Then, after federal law e