George Floyd

One year ago this week a nation watched in anger as Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on the neck of George Floyd, killing him in the process. 

A meandering protest Thursday evening started in Buffalo's Niagara Square, worked through the East Side to murals near Broadway and Pratt Street of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, ultimately winding up at the Erie County Holding Center before a final return to Niagara Square. The event was focused on the Black Lives Matter movement, and included several people on bicycles  following the hit-and-run injury of a Slow Roll board member and well-known protester.

While much of the national conversation about police reform has focused on race, gender also affects policing. Combine race and gender and you will find that women -- particularly Black women -- are being stopped by police much more often than two decades ago, and those stops are becoming much more troubling.

Earlier this spring, Amherst Central High School decided not to offer a longtime elective class called “Race in America” during the coming school year. Then came the police killing of George Floyd, nationwide protests over systemic racism, and a group of students that wasn’t having it.

Their demands were visible in the signs they carried, as protesters marched and drove from Buffalo's Niagara Square, through the Elmwood Village, and eventually to the Hamlin Park home of Mayor Byron Brown Wednesday. As protesters gathered, the mayor was escorted by police to an awaiting vehicle, which left the scene. The event was loud, but peaceful.

A group of protesters occupying Niagara Square was met by Buffalo police officers as they marched from downtown Buffalo to Mayor Byron Brown’s residence Wednesday evening. 

This year's Juneteenth may spark more demonstrations than celebrations, as tensions remain high after the recent death of George Floyd and other African Americans during encounters with police. Juneteenth historically recalls that day in 1865 when the enslaved flooded the streets of Galveston, TX to celebrate their newly announced freedom. But its 2020 observance also begs a look at systemic racism in its modern form.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is conducting public hearings on the interactions between police and the public during weeks of mass protests across the state, including in Buffalo.

Recent protests over the death of George Floyd have pulled back the curtain on issues related to race in Buffalo. WBFO’s Madison Ruffo spoke with one city resident about his own experiences with racism. 

Buffalo Public Schools staffers, teachers and administrators are pushing for more African American history in what the district teaches, as well as pushing young people and their parents to vote and permanently change things.

There is a growing movement to defund the police, after the death of George Floyd and incidences of police brutality in the nationwide protests that came in the aftermath. New York leaders say they would rather restructure the forces than cut their budgets.

Police seem to dominate so many conversation these days, as protests continue in Buffalo and around the world. A key issue in all of these conversations is the rules for becoming an officer and how an officer might lose that badge for bad behavior.