Following last week's guilty verdict in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer for the murder of George Floyd, a Gainesville civil rights activist group has planned a community rally for Thursday, April 29.
The Newtown Florist Club announced plans for the rally on Wednesday, the day after the verdict came down, saying the result was "a wakeup call for our community."
Rev. Rose Johnson, the Executive Director of the Newtown Florist Club, issued a statement from the group on YouTube, calling the community to action.
"It signals why we cannot stop here, why we cannot breathe easier, why we cannot slow down and why we cannot turn around," Johnson said.
She said the goal is for the Gainesville-Hall County community to make sure there's never a case locally like the George Floyd case, where the abuse of police power was evident.
In the weeks after Thursday night's rally, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. along the Midtown Greenway in the Grove Street area, NFC will host a series of virtual community conversations. Dates and specific topics of those forums are under development.
Follow this link for complete information on the community rally.
