PORTLAND, Maine — Editor's note: The video above aired on June 14, 2020.
One year after the murder of George Floyd, people gathered on Congress Street in Portland Tuesday to honor and remember him.
"I think that in a lot of ways we have come very far and also not come far at all," Aminata Conteh, the event organizer, said.
"Masks are coming off and COVID is starting to slow down, but we don't want to forget what happened during COVID while we were locked inside. And the best part about that is when we come out and we have a big crowd like this and we can show up," said Abdul Ali, another organizer.
Hundreds of protests across the country and in Maine took place after Floyd's death.
Last month, a jury convicted former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter.
"That is accountability. That is not true justice. True justice is, again, for folks to be able to live and breathe and be and experience full humanity as black people," Conteh said.
Organizers said while demonstrating and remembering is important, there is still more work to be done.
"Other than policy change, we need to change the school curriculum. We also need to change policing when it comes to jails and prisons. We have to understand, does that help or does it actually cause more problems? Another things is housing. We also see a capitalistic system. It's very difficult for people to even find a home. If you can't find a home, you can't move forward in life," Ali said.
Editor's note: The video below aired on June 5, 2020.