Memorial site for George Floyd continues to grow as hundreds come to pay their respect

George Floyd
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Hundreds have gathered at the site in South Minneapolis where George Floyd lost his life at the hands of four Minneapolis Police officers over a week ago. Those who have gathered at 38th and Chicago continue to pay their respects to Floyd and protest racial injustices and police brutality in the world.

THREAD: I’ve arrived at E. 38th and Chicago Ave - the site where #GeorgeFloyd died.I’m here to see what this place means on this day. pic.twitter.com/38po7aSb9t

— Jesse Horne (@Jesse_Horne) June 6, 2020

Rick Galvin of Ames, Iowa was asked his thoughts about the death of Floyd by WCCO's Lea B. Olson. Galvin has been a part of several protests throughout the years, including marches for Women's Rights and Roe v. Wade to name a few. He traveled from his home in Ames early this morning to witness the site where Floyd was killed with his own eyes.  

Galvin was 15 years old when Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered. He recalled riots that had broken out over the death of MLK and remembered how tense the situations were. 

Now at 68 years old, Galvin is experiencing the same protests against injustice that he had seen in his youth. But for Galvin this time is different. This time the epicenter of it all is in his backyard and more people are speaking up. 

“I really admire all the people here, it's very quiet,” Galvin said. “People are paying their respects and there's good diversity of people here which I am happy to see.” 

Galvin compared protests of the past and the events that are unfolding to something rising from the bottom of the ocean, filling with air and then sinking back down. This time he does not want this issue to be something that sinks and is forgotten about until the next event happens. 

“I just pray that this isn't going to sink back to the bottom,” Galvin said. 

This time he wants the message to be stuck with those who are listening, he wants them not to forget what is happening. 

“I hope everybody just absorbs it and not just go home and let it sink to the bottom, they gotta keep it on the surface,” Galvin said.