We Carry Them Still: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and the South’s Reckoning With Reform
As the nation marks the fifth anniversary of Floyd’s death, the South also reckons with Black lives lost and justice undone after the DOJ abandoned the very reforms promised in their names.
On May 25, 2020, the world watched as George Floyd was murdered on a Minneapolis street beneath the knee of a police officer, who held his neck to the pavement for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. That summer and beyond, America was forced to reckon with our grief and rage. Because this long-ignored reality we often face as Black people was caught on camera and could no longer be denied.
The other unfortunate reality is that just months before Floyd was killed, other Black lives had already been lost to racist brutality. In February of the same year, Ahmaud Arbery was hunted and gunned down by three white men — one of whom was a former police officer — in Georgia. The following month, in March, Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police as she slept in her home.
During his 2020 campaign, Joe Biden repeatedly vowed to address police violence and racial injustice in the wake of their murders. Notably, the response under his administration wasn’t perfect, but it was a historic start. Consent decrees, federal investigations, and oversight agreements were introduced to begin repairing what systemic abuse had broken.
But now, five years later, not only are Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd no longer with us — the reforms promised in their names are dying too.
On May 21, 2025, Trump’s Department of Justice dismissed federal oversight agreements in Louisville and Minneapolis and closed its investigation into Memphis. It also retreated from consent decree negotiations in several other cities, including Jackson, Mississippi.
“Just days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder — a moment that galvanized a global movement for justice — the U.S. Department of Justice has chosen to turn its back on the very communities it pledged to protect,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump said shortly after the announcement, who has represented the families of Floyd, Taylor, and Tyre Nichols. “It’s a slap in the face to the families and to every community that has endured the trauma of police violence and the false promises of accountability.”
From Breonna to Tyre: Reform Promised, Then Pulled
The killing of Breonna Taylor on March 13, 2020, exposed just how deeply broken policing had become — especially in the South. Louisville police executed a no-knock warrant at the wrong address and opened fire — striking the 26-year-old EMT five times. While her name made many headlines, especially after the death of George Floyd, it took months before the officers involved were fired, let alone charged. It wasn’t until November 2024 that a federal jury convicted Brett Hankson, one of the officers responsible, of violating Taylor’s civil rights.
But now, justice that looks like this is unraveling now that the DOJ has rolled back police reform agreements with Louisville’s police department.
“Our family is upset as can be expected. This dismissal is the result of the Mayoral Administration dragging its feet to finalize the consent decree,” Breonna’s mother, Tamika Palmer, told WLKY news. “This city deserves true reform. It is up to the residents of this city to hold the police department and the Mayor accountable — and the best way to do that is through our votes.”
In Memphis, the rollback cut just as deep. In January 2023, Tyre Nichols was dragged from his car and beaten by five police officers during a routine traffic stop. Despite national attention and a federal investigation, the DOJ not only closed this case, but also retracted Biden’s DOJ’s prior findings of systemic misconduct.
“We have gotten so much injustice from this city that it is ridiculous.” Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, told Fox13 Memphis.
And in Jackson, Mississippi, a DOJ investigation had been underway into racist policing practices. That case is now on indefinite pause — leaving yet another Southern community unprotected.
The South Will See This Through
With the federal government stepping away, the burden has fallen entirely on cities and communities — who must now reform the very systems that betrayed them. Though the rollback is devastating, many of us still haven’t folded. “We won’t let them off the hook.” The Mississippi ACLU chapter said in a statement.
I’ve lived in the South my whole life. In many ways, this isn’t the first time we’ve been left to fight on our own — and it likely won’t be the last. I’ve witnessed the weight of our history and the heartbreak of how easily Black life can be taken and left undefended. I’ve seen the tears of mothers and brothers. I’ve felt the rage of communities crying out, only to be met with silence or shallow reform.
But I’ve also seen us pull together. I’ve seen us keep going.
Time and again, the South has been abandoned — by presidents, by policy, by the very systems that claim to protect us. But as I reflect on this day, I’ve realized that we’ve never abandoned one another. Even when justice fails, we find ways to remember, to resist, and to rebuild.
So while I am both sad and exhausted by what this day and recent retreat represent, I am not defeated. And I still believe, deep in my bones, that the South will see this through — just as we always have.
And thankfully, I am not alone in that belief.
13 & South is a new publication covering news, investigative stories, and insights on social justice, policy, and systemic inequities impacting Southern Black communities. I value your insights and feedback, and invite your perspectives to contribute to future issues. Please email me at editor@13thandsouth.com. Also, feel free to connect with me on my socials! LinkedIn, Twitter, IG, BlueSky, and Threads.
I have a list of things to blog about once I work toward healing which is still underway with my personal blog articles. So much in Georgia...so much. And police brutality like this. Godwilling I'll be safe and protected to be able to write about these things after I finish with accessing myself for potential. Thank you. It can be anyone, any of this murder, any of us. I cannot.