LOS ANGELES — It’s been one year since the death of George Floyd brought people in Los Angeles like Manar Jarban to protest against police brutality in the streets.

“As much as it was a lot of grief and sadness and frustration and anger, it was also empowering to see people coming together in a moment that we felt so defeated,” Jarban said.

What You Need To Know

  • Hundreds marched in DTLA in remembrance of George Floyd and to call for police reform in LA Tuesday

  • Supporters marched from LA City Hall to the Museum of Social Justice

  • The Museum of Social Justice is showing a Black Lives Matter art exhibit through June 6

  • Paula Minor, an organizer with Black Lives Matter LA, says she wants to see less policing and more funding for community services in hopes of seeing fewer lives lost while in police custody

Since then, Jarban felt a calling to help create change in her community by calling on City of Los Angeles officials to reallocate police funding. Last summer, the city of Los Angeles announced a $150 million reduction in funding for the LAPD.

Recently, the Los Angeles City Council changed course by increasing the LAPD’s budget by 3% after LAPD statistics showed an increase in crime and a 26% increase in homicides in 2021, compared to last year.

“It’s definitely frustrating to be out here one year later and not seeing major changes. We’ve been calling for the defunding of police and funding services and we don’t see those things happening,” Jarban said.

That’s why one year later, Jarban and hundreds of others supporting the Black Lives Matter movement rallied and marched through the streets of Los Angeles, continuing the call for police reform and in remembrance of George Floyd.

Paula Minor, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, wants to see less policing and more funding for community services in hopes of seeing fewer lives lost while in police custody.

Related Stories

“It’s a reminder that we need to continue to make our demands to have police accountability, police transparency. It’s a part of the struggle for justice, a struggle that has especially impacted black people. But, it really impacts all people,” Minor said.

Supporters marched from LA City Hall to the Museum of Social Justice where the New Black City: A World Without Police art exhibit is on display. The exhibit is available to the public until June 6th.

For Jarban taking part in the march was a moment to be there for her community.

“It’s empowering and I want to see more of this. It feels good to be out here, even though, it might not be as big of a number as it was last year. But this brings me hope,” Jarban said.

Until then, she’ll continue to march through the streets of Los Angeles in hopes of being a voice for change.