Five Years Later: The Road Ahead for Justice in America

Five years ago, the world witnessed the horrific murder of George Floyd on a Minneapolis street, a modern-day lynching that ignited one of the largest protest movements in U.S. history and sparked global outcry. In that moment of rare moral clarity, people from every corner of society rose to demand accountability, dignity, and safety. Yet, despite the volume of those cries, sustaining momentum for long-term change has proven difficult. 

And now, the stakes are rising. This past week, just days before this anniversary, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would abandon federal police reform agreements with several jurisdictions, including Minneapolis and Louisville, the very cities where George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were killed. These consent decrees were hard-won tools for accountability, and abandoning them sends a chilling message that oversight can be discarded, and communities demanding justice can be ignored. This comes just weeks after a sweeping executive order to “unleash” law enforcement, signaling a retreat from even the most basic standards of oversight and accountability. 

At the Center for Policing Equity, we know this is precisely the time to dig deeper, not step back. We will continue using data to confront injustice, partnering with communities and law enforcement ready for change, and advancing policies that build real public safety. 

The movement for racial justice did not begin in 2020, and it does not end when political tides shift. Five years after George Floyd’s death, we honor his life not just with remembrance, but with renewed resolve to tell the truth, pursue justice, and insist that a better future is not only necessary, but possible.