Floyd family meets Biden as Congress weighs police bill

WASHINGTON (AP):

The anniversary of George Floyd’s death was supposed to be a milestone moment, a time to mark passage of legislation to “root out systemic racism” in the criminal justice system, in the words of President Joe Biden. Instead, Floyd’s family visited Washington on Tuesday to mourn with Biden and prod Congress to act as they commemorate the loss of their brother, father and son one year ago.

“Today is the day that he set the world in a rage,” Floyd’s brother Philonise said yesterday while addressing reporters at the Capitol alongside family members, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers. “We need to be working together to make sure that people do not live in fear in America any more,” he said.

Later, family members spent an hour with Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris at the White House.

“It was a remembrance of what happened to my brother,” Philonise Floyd said. He said of the meeting with Biden, “It was great, he’s a genuine guy.”

Biden told them “he just wants the bill to be meaningful and that it holds George’s legacy intact”, said George Floyd’s nephew Brandon Williams.

A sister, Bridgett Floyd, stayed away, aiming to come only when there is a bill to be signed into law.

“That’s when I will make my way to DC,” she said from Minnesota.