A year ago, protests raged in Florida and across the country.
Demonstrators called for racial justice and police accountability after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Corporations pledged to help black-owned businesses. Local governments promised to rethink policing.
One year on, are those promises being kept?
On this episode, we’re talking with two prominent Black voices in the Tampa Bay region to address what’s changed, and what hasn’t in the year since Floyd’s murder.
First, host Bradley George speaks with Donna Davis. She’s co-founder of the Tampa chapter of Black Lives Matter.
She says she’s optimistic that some people who came out to protest last summer will stay involved in BLM’s activism. But Davis says they will continue their efforts regardless.
Later, George is joined by Lorielle Holloway, founder and owner of Cultured Books.
Her St. Petersburg store focuses on selling children’s books with a multicultural perspective. She says she gained a lot of business last summer in the wake of the protests.
But she says she remains cautiously optimistic about whether that change is lasting.