George Floyd Community Fund Will Benefit 38th Street And Chicago

MINNEAPOLIS — The family of George Floyd Tuesday announced details of The George Floyd Community Benevolence Fund. The fund will award grants to businesses and community organizations near 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, where Floyd died in the hands of Minneapolis police one year ago.

"Mr. Floyd was murdered May 25, 2020, in that predominantly Black neighborhood, and his family has been touched by the strength, the spirit, and the need in that community," read a statement through Ben Crump, the family's lawyer.

"The mission of the Fund is to raise up and give breath to the businesses, individuals, and organizations in Minnesota that have been detrimentally impacted by systemic racism."

Grants will be funded give out at $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000 levels.

"As we mark the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s horrific death, the family feels deeply that something positive should come from the pain and injustice he suffered. The George Floyd Community Benevolence Fund will be an instrumental, long-term partner to the Black-owned businesses in the neighborhood where he died, where we all have seen the continued negative impact of systemic racism," Crump said.

"George’s legacy is his spirit of optimism that things can get better, and our family wants to bring that hope to the community where he died, so that together we can make things better for the Black community in Minneapolis and beyond," said Terrence Floyd, brother of George Floyd and officer of the Fund Board.

Applications for the fund will not be accepted until fall 2021. More information can be found at the fund's website.

Also read: President Joe Biden To Host George Floyd's Family At White House

The death of George Floyd

Just after 8 p.m. on Memorial Day, 2020, police responded to the Cup Foods store on 38th Street and Chicago Avenue South in Minneapolis on a report of a "forgery in progress."

Outside the store, police told Floyd he was under arrest. In a video seen around the world, Floyd is heard telling officers "I can't breathe" while being forced down onto the street. He also asks for water.

Bystanders yelled at Chauvin to get off of him. Officers Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane assisted Chauvin. A fourth officer — Tou Thao — ordered people, including an off-duty EMS worker, to back away from the scene.

Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck even after he went motionless. All four officers who were at the scene were fired the next day and were later criminally charged.

Thao, Kueng, and Lane still face charges of aiding and abetting unintentional second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Their trial was delayed until 2022 to make room for a federal civil rights trial involving all four officers, including Chauvin