THE murder of George Floyd three years ago at the hands of Minneapolis police was commemorated across the globe today.

The murder sparked protests around the world which drew attention to spiralling levels of racism against black people.

For more than nine minutes, a white officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck. 

Video footage of Floyd’s murder on May 25 2020 was so agonising to watch that demands for change came from countries around the world. 

Mr Chauvin was sentenced to 22-and-a-half years for second-degree murder. Two of the three other officers pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting manslaughter and received shorter terms, while the third officer was convicted of that count by a judge and awaits sentencing.

But three years after Floyd’s murder, proponents of US federal actions against racism, still await signs of change.

“When people casually, and I think too frequently, say that there is some sort of racial reckoning that we’re in the midst of, I see no evidence of that,” Democratic US Representative Ayanna Pressley said during a recent press conference convened by a Black Lives Matter collective.

Activists in Minneapolis were set to hold a candlelight vigil on Thursday night at George Floyd Square, the corner where Floyd was killed.