NEWARK, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- Newark Mayor Ras Baraka unveiled a statue honoring George Floyd on the front steps of City Hall Wednesday afternoon.
The 700-pound bronze statue was donated to the city and will stand in front of City Hall for at least one year.
The artwork honors the life of George Floyd, a Black man murdered when a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for over nine minutes during his arrest.
Floyd’s death sparked international protests from the “Black Lives Matter” movement which have resulted in police reform measures, as well as the removal of Confederate statues from public parks and racist names from organizations.
The ceremony also honors “Juneteenth,” the day slavery was finally eliminated in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union troops in Texas freed the last enslaved men and women in what had been the Confederacy.