"Thought He'd Live To Be 100": George Floyd's Sister On His 50th Birthday

George Floyd, whose death sparked protests against racial injustice and police brutality across the United States, would have turned 50-years-old on October 14. The family of the Minneapolis man, who was killed in May 2020, continues to mourn their loss. His older sister said that he was "just a soul full of joy" and that "he should have been here" on his birthday.  

"I remember me telling him, 'Boy, you getting on up there,' she says. "I remember him saying, 'I'm still in my 40s. I'm still a kid.' And he was like, 'I can still kick it," she told People Magazine as she remembered him and their jokes about grey hair and receding hairline.

"I thought he would be alive to see it. I thought he'd live to be 100," she said.

She said that she is planning to throw a party in his memory and serve his favourite "white cake with chocolate frosting". She told the outlet, "He would've thrown a block party. Everybody would come," she says. "I miss him so much. I love him more, and since he is not here to do it, I'm going to do it for him."

Derek Chauvin, a white officer captured on cellphone video kneeling on Mr Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020, was found guilty of murder in 2021. Another Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao held back a small crowd of bystanders while Chauvin and two other officers were subduing Mr Floyd, who police suspected of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a nearby store.

The killing ignited a wave of protests over racism and police brutality across the United States and around the world.

As per Reuters, Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in state prison for the unintentional second-degree murder of Mr Floyd. Last year, he received a concurrent sentence of 21 years in prison on federal charges of violating Mr Floyd's civil rights.