By National Action Network
Photos: YouTube Screenshots\Wikimedia Commons
NEW YORK, NY (May 23, 2025) — Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), will join the family of George Floyd, Attorney Ben Crump, and national leaders in Houston this Sunday for a graveside memorial on the fifth anniversary of his death. After the private ceremony, Rev. Sharpton will deliver a rebuke against the Trump Justice Department at a press conference alongside the family and Attorney Crump, condemning their decisions this week to abandon agreed upon changes with several police departments, including Minneapolis, where Floyd was murdered after an officer kneeled on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds.
“The first Trump administration tried to ignore George Floyd’s murder and now the second is bent on erasing it,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of NAN. “The Justice Department chose this week to drop charges meant to create accountability as an insult to George’s death, his legacy, and the change we have made over the last five years. They can drop charges, they can press companies to abandon DEI, but they cannot stop us from honoring George Floyd and holding people to the promises they made after his death.”
Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced it would drop accountability measures with several police departments over its betrayal of public trust. That included Minneapolis over the May 2020 killing of Floyd as well as Louisville, stemming from the murder of Breonna Taylor just two months earlier. Rev. Sharpton, who eulogized Floyd at services in Minneapolis and his native Houston, condemned this action as a moral retreat by the federal government.
He will address the backslide by the Trump administration on civil rights, as well as the pressure campaign MAGA Republicans have waged against diversity, equity, and inclusion. Trump’s first days in office were marked by a flurry of executive orders to dismantle DEI, as Rev. Sharpton and NAN rallied around companies like Costco that stood by the policy. Rev. Sharpton has since met with CEOs of Fortune 500 companies including PepsiCo and Target over their decision to scale back on DEI, as NAN plans to hold a March on Wall Street this August.
Rev. Sharpton and Attorney Crump also joined members of the Floyd family, including his daughter, in May 2022 when President Biden signed an executive order demanding accountability for federal law enforcement who abuse the public’s trust. The executive order fulfilled a campaign promise Biden made in 2020 after Floyd’s murder to begin holding bad actors in policing accountable — especially as it relates to the unjust killing of Black and Brown people.
On Sunday, Rev. Sharpton and Attorney Crump will lead a private memorial service at Floyd’s gravesite. Immediately after, they will address the media outside the cemetery. From there, they will visit the Houston housing project where Floyd and his siblings grew up.
WHO
Philonise Floyd, Brother of George Floyd
Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President, NAN
Attorney Ben Crump
Congress Member Nikema Williams
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis
Harris County Attorney Christian Menafee
Texas State Representative Ron Reynolds
WHEN
Memorial Service (closed press): 10:30 a.m. CT
Press conference (outside the cemetery): 11 a.m. CT
Visit to Housing Projects Where George Floyd: 11:30 a.m. CT
WHERE
Houston Memorial Gardens
George Floyd Memorial
2426 Cullen Parkway
Pearland, TX 77582
About National Action Network (NAN)
National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with chapters throughout the entire United States. Founded in 1991 by Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality or gender.
For more information go to www.nationalactionnetwork.net.
