Houston, Texas – Nine months after George Floyd died, Jack Yates High School, unveiled a mural to honor his memory and tell his story.
“Floyd was a great man. Everybody loved him in the community,” said Floyd’s brother Rodney.
Click 2 Houston reported on the massive “Black Lives Matter” mural, spanning two blocks along Alabama Street in front of Jack Yates High School, was unveiled during a private ceremony for Floyd’s family and community members in Houston’s Third Ward.
George Floyd’s jersey and the Yates “Lion” also made it’s way on the mural.
The mural was commissioned by Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Houston Society for Change, and 88 C.H.U.M.P., a non-profit social activism organization formed by Floyd’s former Yates football teammates, according to a release.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee presented Elijah with a special award.
“Your efforts are most deserving of the respect, admiration and commendation of the United States Congress,” she said.
Lee also presented the Floyd family with the George Floyd Justice and Policing Bill that intends to help provide money to communities to “re-imagine” policing.
The ceremony included a ribbon-cutting, balloon release, motorcycle procession and Texas Southern University drumline.
Not addressed by Congresswoman Lee or in her “re-imagine” plan were the 400 murders in Houston in 2020, an all-time high and up 40% from 2019.
In the first three weeks of 2021, Houston was on pace to beat that new record with ten teenagers being murdered. A disproportionate number of the victims in 2020 have been African American.
