"We have to act": Biden meets with George Floyd's family

Enlarge image

George Floyd's family was received in the US Congress

Photo:

Greg Nash / AP

A year after the killing of the African American George Floyd in a brutal police operation, US President Joe Biden met with relatives of the victim.

The White House said the meeting in Washington on the anniversary of Floyd's death was attended by Vice President Kamala Harris, the first black in office.

Even before the hour-long conversation behind closed doors in the White House, Biden was impressed by the family's "extraordinary courage".

The conviction of white policeman Derek Chauvin for Floyd's death last month "was a step towards justice - but we cannot stop there," the president wrote on Twitter.

"We have to take action."

Floyd's death on May 25 last year in Minneapolis, Minnesota had sparked protests against racism and police violence in the United States that lasted for months.

"Says his name" has been the slogan of protests in the country ever since.

His daughter Gianna honored her father during a visit in front of the White House, where she made the well-known call in front of the assembled press.

New police reform law to be named after Floyd

The White House announced Tuesday that Biden would be traveling to Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 1, the anniversary of a racist pogrom in the city. Exactly 100 years ago, mobs of white attackers destroyed countless black-run businesses and hundreds of houses went up in flames. Dozens of blacks were killed and hundreds injured.

Biden is also campaigning for a police reform bill named after George Floyd.

He had asked Congress in vain to pass the law no later than the anniversary of Floyd's death.

The House of Representatives, which is controlled by Biden's Democrats, passed the bill in March.

In the Senate, however, the Democrats are dependent on the votes of several Republicans.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Biden was giving congressional negotiators "time and space" to discuss the law.

She noted the progress made in the negotiations.

mjm / dpa