George Floyd was killed a year ago. What Mitch Mitchell is asking of Beaufort
Mitch Mitchell, the sole Black member of the Beaufort City Council, reminded Beaufortonians that Tuesday was the one-year anniversary of the killing of George Floyd, a day that should prompt introspection and care for each other. Mitchell urged fellow citizens to follow the “golden rule.”
“Today is a very significant day in the history of America,” Mitchell said at the close of a City Council meeting. “A year ago is when George Floyd was killed.”
The death of Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, led to a summer of protests worldwide, including several in Beaufort.
People gathered Tuesday across the country to mark the anniversary.
Floyd died after his neck was pinned to the ground under the knee of white police officer Dererk Chauvin. Chauvin was found guilty last month of murdering Floyd. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 25.
The incident cemented the City Council candidacy of Mitchell, a retired pilot and retired Air Force major general who led a march through the city in June.
On Tuesday, Mitchell asked residents to “Do to others as you would have them do to you,” in reference to Matthew 7:12, known as the golden rule.
“If not, just leave them alone,” Mitchell said.
Floyd’s death has affected people differently, Mitchell said.
And it has affected some people longer than others. But it should spur everybody to work to ensure something similar doesn’t happen again, in Beaufort or any place else, he said.
“It was a sad day in the history of America.”
When he was elected in November, six month’s after Floyd’s death, Mitchell, a 71-year-old Sheldon native, became the city’s first Black council representative in 27 years.
This story was originally published May 26, 2021 at 9:21 AM.
