Five years ago, the world watched in horror as George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police — a moment that ignited a global movement for racial justice. For Selwyn Jones, George’s uncle, that moment wasn’t just a tragedy; it was a turning point.
“I watched one of my favorite people die right in front of my eyes,” he tells Katie Couric Media in a new interview. “When I first started watching the video, I didn’t even realize who he was. We had just finished watching what happened to Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, and I remember thinking, Why are they still doing this to people?”
“I was feeling sorrow and pain for someone I thought was a stranger — and then I found out that person was my nephew,” he continues. “That moment threw me into what I now know is my calling to make a difference in this world.”
Since that tragic day, Jones has turned his grief into action, founding the Justice 929 Foundation and advocating for police accountability, civil rights, and community healing.
For the anniversary of Floyd’s death, Jones discusses his ongoing fight for justice, the legacy his nephew left behind, and why — despite the setbacks — he refuses to give up hope.
Katie Couric Media: It’s been five years since Minneapolis police killed your nephew. I can only imagine how painful this anniversary must be. How did you and your family choose to honor his memory this year?
Selwyn Jones: There was a celebration in Houston, and there was a celebration in Minneapolis, which I attended. And let me tell you something, to stand to the side and to see all of the people, thousands of people that had candles for my nephew — it literally broke me up inside because he could have died anywhere in the world.
But the Lord made sure that a person with a good heart and a good soul, who had issues like everybody does in this world, meant something. And that nine minutes and 29 seconds made people weep and made them see the atrocities that people of color have to go through living in this society that we live in. Police brutality is real. Wrongful convictions are real. Domestic violence is real. Missing people are real. All of these atrocities were brought to the forefront when that young man died.
George’s death sparked a national reckoning and helped push forward some meaningful reforms. But the fight for police accountability continues. How do you see the current landscape? Has progress stalled?
I’m not going to say it stalled, but in the six to eight months following George’s death, there was a lot of push. Over the last three years, it has slowed down, especially under the present administration. But that’s OK, because life goes on. We will continue to push forward.
I’m advocating for a medical civil rights bill that would allow anyone in contact with authorities to receive medical assistance. If that bill had been passed, George would be alive today. I’ve even created a prevention app that has a panic button, so if you’re in any stressful situation, you can press it and it’ll alert your emergency contacts. Anybody within the range finder that we have, which goes up to 30 miles, can also come to your assistance.
Recently, the Trump administration announced plans to end federal oversight of more than two dozen local police departments. What’s your reaction to that move, especially when it comes to protecting civil rights?
Save your own. That’s the problem — we have a lot of older people who don’t look like us making decisions for us. And that’s not fair.
But people of color — we’re strong. We’ve been fighting our whole lives here. Fighting for justice, for peace, for equality. And no matter what they say or how they say it, we’re still going to move forward.
It might be harder. But we’re going to keep going because what else can we do?
At the same time, cities like Minneapolis say they’ll move ahead with the Justice Department’s full reform agenda, even without federal pressure. Does that give you hope?
That gives me hope because they’re starting to realize that their system is broken. What we need is for more people to step up and take accountability, to say, ‘Hey, we know things aren’t right. How can we fix this from the inside?’
When you think about George now, what do you most want people to remember about him, beyond the headlines and the tragedy?
He was a jokester and a clown who always made you laugh. When you’re poor, laughs are free, so we all know how to make people laugh because that doesn’t cost anything.
He was a good dude who had a demon. A lot of people have mental health issues, you know? Unfortunately, it didn’t end very well for him on May 25 because of police brutality.
People tell me all the time, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’ But what I’m not sorry about is the ability and the opportunity that I have to make an impact and a difference. Do you realize how many George Floyds there have been? Millions, but there was only one of them that was my nephew.
What are you most proud of when it comes to your work at the Justice 929 Foundation?
I tell people all the time: I can’t get George back, but what I can do is help someone no one’s ever heard of — someone with no resources. That’s what the Justice 929 Foundation and I are all about: helping marginalized people.
We have divisions for missing persons, mental health issues, domestic violence, and gun violence. We also run a program called Shoot Hoops, Not Guns. And of course, police brutality is my focus. But we also work on wrongful convictions — we just got off a call with the Innocence Project.
I can’t do everything, but I can address these issues. And when you collaborate with others, when I can use my platform and my voice, we can get heard. That’s really all we want — to let people know there’s someone out there who cares.
There’s a foundation willing to give you what you need — or at least move in that direction — just by reaching out. Because a lot of the time, all it takes is for someone to know that someone does care. And I do.
What do you say to people who feel discouraged by how slow — or uneven — progress has been since 2020?
Keep fighting. If you had been where I was on the anniversary of George’s death — if you had seen people from all different ethnicities and countries, standing together, holding candles for a Black man they didn’t even know, and then witnessed what his death set in motion — you’d believe too.
But don’t stay quiet because if you’re thinking about it but not speaking on it, that doesn’t do much. So if you have a thought, share it with someone. There are also powerful groups you can be part of to fight against racial injustice, so let’s keep the momentum going.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
