Five Years After George Floyd’s Death: A Movement at a Crossroads
It’s been five years since George Floyd’s tragic death shocked the world — a heartbreaking moment that sparked global protests and reignited urgent conversations about racial justice. Floyd, a Black man from Minneapolis, gasped “I can’t breathe” while a police officer knelt on his neck for several agonizing minutes in May 2020. That plea, simple yet powerful, became the anthem for a worldwide movement demanding accountability and justice.
A Moment That Changed Everything
Thousands, millions even, took to the streets to stand against systemic racism and police brutality. Businesses pledged millions to combat racial inequality, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs flourished as companies and government agencies alike promised change. For a moment, it seemed like America was finally waking up.
Shareeduh McGee, Floyd’s cousin, has been a vocal advocate keeping his memory alive. “His death was the ultimate sacrifice,” she said at a Houston event commemorating Floyd’s life. “If we don’t create opportunities to learn and change because of that loss, then it was in vain.” Her words carry the weight of heartbreak — and determination — even as she expresses disappointment in the recent rollbacks to reforms sparked by Floyd’s death.
The Backlash and the Rollbacks
Yet, in the five years since, the landscape of racial equity efforts has shifted dramatically — and not for the better. Corporate commitments to DEI have been dialed back or scrapped altogether, and government support has wavered. Under former President Donald Trump’s administration, several DEI programs faced significant challenges, with some rollbacks even preceding his tenure in office.
The Department of Justice has dropped key oversight roles created to investigate police abuses that came in response to Floyd’s murder and other killings of Black Americans. For advocates like McGee and many civil rights leaders, this is a hard pill to swallow but, unfortunately, not surprising.
Rev. Al Sharpton, who gave Floyd’s eulogy and continues to work closely with Floyd’s family, is gearing up for a major march on Wall Street this August. “We can hold the private sector accountable because they cannot afford the withdrawal of our dollars,” Sharpton said, emphasizing the power consumers hold in demanding corporate responsibility. His National Action Network has met with CEOs urging them to reverse their DEI rollbacks or maintain these vital programs.
The Complexity of DEI
While DEI initiatives have been hailed as a necessary step toward equal opportunity, not everyone agrees on their implementation. Kevin McGary, founder of Texas-based nonprofit Every Black Life Matters and a conservative voice in the debate, acknowledges that some companies felt pressured to make equity pledges after Floyd’s death. However, he and others criticize DEI efforts as potentially lowering standards in favor of diversity, advocating instead for merit-based advancement. “Everybody should be pushed to have an excellent standard,” McGary says.
This ongoing tension highlights the complex and sometimes contentious nature of racial justice reforms in corporate America — a microcosm of the national debate on race, merit, and opportunity.
Fatigue, Skepticism, and the Reality Check
The initial surge of optimism has, for many, faded. A Pew Research Center survey from May 2025 paints a sobering picture: 72% of adults believe that the focus on racial inequality in recent years has failed to produce meaningful change for Black Americans. Even more striking, 67% of Black Americans doubt that the U.S. will ever achieve racial equality.
Juliana Horowitz, co-author of the report, explains that “there’s been growing skepticism in the last five years,” describing it as a “very sizable shift.” This skepticism is part of a broader trend of “racial fatigue” — a historical phenomenon where progress toward civil rights is often met with backlash and exhaustion, both politically and socially.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson echoes this sentiment: “George Floyd’s murder was a realization for many that this open murder was appalling and raised crucial questions about how Black people, especially Black men, are treated. But sadly, there is also a fatigue in the country.”
A Historical Perspective: The Slow March Forward
To put this in context, history shows us that movements for racial justice often come with cycles of progress and regression. Professor Nadia Brown from Georgetown University highlights how quickly the current moment’s optimism has dissipated. “It took 12 years and several national elections after Reconstruction to get to the nadir of Black politics during Jim Crow,” she says. “This time, undoing the start of a racial reckoning happened in less than five years.”
The rapid reversal is startling, underscoring the fragile nature of progress in racial justice and how hard it is to maintain momentum amid political and social resistance.
The Movement Isn’t Dead — It’s Evolving
Still, despite setbacks, advocates emphasize that the fight for racial justice is far from over. The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), a coalition of over 100 organizations, insists its mission remains unchanged.
“Black people have always been the canary in the coal mine, standing at the forefront calling out oppressive systems,” says Amara Enyia, M4BL’s co-executive director. “This didn’t start in 2020, and it’s not going to end because of rollbacks.”
Melina Abdullah, founder of BLM Grassroots, frames the movement as being “at a crossroads.” With sweeping national reforms slow or stalled, activists are now focusing on impactful state-level policies — from mental health crisis response teams to advancing Black trans rights — where tangible gains can still be made.
“We’re doubling down,” Abdullah says. “This is not the time to retreat.”
Shifting the National Conversation
One undeniable success of the BLM movement has been shifting how Americans talk about race. Georgetown’s Nadia Brown points out that the national dialogue moved from seeing incidents like Floyd’s murder as isolated tragedies to understanding them within a broader, systemic context of racism.
National Urban League President Marc Morial notes that under the Biden administration, several police officers were convicted, and investigations into police departments increased. However, Morial cautions that “progress was material but not as much as we would have hoped.” With the current political climate, these gains now face new threats.
He stresses that local governments must take up the mantle, saying, “Mayors, city councils, state legislatures — they need to lead on police reform where federal action stalls.”
The Road Ahead: Hope, Resistance, and Responsibility
Five years after George Floyd’s death, America stands at a critical juncture. The movement that grew out of a single moment of injustice has reshaped the national consciousness but now wrestles with fatigue, backlash, and an uncertain future.
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Corporate America is reconsidering or scaling back DEI efforts, despite the clear need for sustained inclusion.
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Public skepticism is growing, fueled by a lack of broad policy changes.
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Activists are refocusing on grassroots and state-level initiatives, where meaningful progress is still possible.
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Calls for accountability — both from government and business — remain loud and clear.
As Shareeduh McGee put it, Floyd’s death must not be in vain. The challenge is clear: to turn the lessons of that tragic day into real, lasting change. And though the path forward is tough, the movement’s spirit — resilient and determined — shows no sign of fading.
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