Black EOE Journal www.blackeoejournal.com 19 (EDITORS NOTE: image taken with a drone) A 400-foot-long "Black Lives Matter" street mural is seen across from Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando. Similar paintings have appeared in dozens of U.S. cities in the wake of protests in response to the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd in Minneapolis.
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sadness, and a sense of disbelief, said Marc Morial, president and chief executive officer of the historic National Urban League, which works to provide economic empowerment, educational opportunities, and a guarantee of civil rights to the underserved in America. Even though we know Black men are proportionally brutalized by police, it was still a shock to see these officers, fully aware that they were being recorded, treat a life with such casual disregard. The four Minneapolis officers involved were promptly fired. However, it was four days before the first arrest was made. Chauvin, the most senior officer, has since been charged with an upgraded count of second-degree murder, while the other three are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Memorial services for Floyd, paid for by boxing champion Floyd Mayweather, were held in both Raeford, North Carolina (where he was born) and his hometown of Houston (where he was laid to rest next to his mother). Both services drew thousands, including prominent community and national leaders, activists, celebrities, professional athletes, and - most notably - the families of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Botham Jean, and Pamela Turner. The outpouring and noted names in attendance signified the impact of the moment. He once said he wanted to touch the world, recalled Jonathan Veal, Floyds longtime friend, in an interview with CNNs Don Lemon. Then teenagers, they were discussing what they wanted to do with their lives. That comment, back in the eleventh grade, was prophetic in nature, he added. He is literally having a global impact. In Houston, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, joined by Illinois Governor JB Pritzer,
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