'My Brother Was Somebody': George Floyd's Sister, Friend Reflect 4 Years After His Murder (Exclusive)
"We can never forget,” says George Floyd's friend Tiffany Cofield. "It was history made in the most horrific way"
Four years ago, on May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Captured on horrific video footage, the killing spotlighted the reality of police brutality and racial injustice, sparking protests across the country and globe.
Ahead of the somber anniversary, Floyd’s sister, Bridgett Floyd, 33, who lives in North Carolina, told PEOPLE she planned to spend the weekend in Minnesota.
“I just want the world to know that my brother was somebody. He was somebody. He wasn’t just anybody,” says Bridgett Floyd.
“He wasn’t just any man. He just wasn’t any Black man. But he was somebody, and he was the somebody that’s going to help everybody that needs help. That’s what I want the world to know — that he is the somebody that is going to help everybody.”
Bridgett has spent the last four years trying to do good, in honor of her brother's legacy, she says.
Related: 2 Years After George Floyd Was Murdered by a Police Officer, His Sister Still 'Feels His Spirit'
“I really want to do the works that God wants to see,” Bridgett Floyd tells PEOPLE. “I was broken. I was so broken and I was so hurt because I didn’t know how to accept my brother’s death. I really did not. And I thought I was okay. And I was not okay.”
George Floyd’s close friend, Tiffany Cofield, 39, has also spent the last four years grieving and trying to heal from the trauma of the murder.
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“Some people saw it as a great injustice that was done to a human being. For other people, they saw it as a great injustice and a murder of a Black man in broad daylight in a public situation. For me, it was my dear friend. So the levels of grief are so deep for me,” Cofield says. “I have seriously been traumatized. If I get pulled over by a police officer, it takes me an hour just to calm down.”
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Cofield tattooed a photo of herself and Floyd onto her arm. She carries in her car the program from a dedication ceremony renaming the football field at Jack Yates High School in Houston after Floyd, an alum of the school. She’s saddened that he hasn’t been able to watch his daughter, Gianna, grow up.
Related: George Floyd's Daughter Executive Producing Movie About Him Titled Daddy Changed the World
“I know how much he loved his daughter,” Cofield says. “She’s growing, she’s smart. I hate that he’s not here to see and to experience milestones with her.”
“That was his buttercup,” Cofield adds. “He really loved his daughter.”
Cofield wants people to remember Floyd by the person he was.
“He was definitely a loving, kind, gentle person, and he really wanted to see the best in people," she says. "Just his presence in the world is greatly missed. Especially in the city of Houston. Especially in his neighborhood in the Third Ward.”
She plans to mark the four-year anniversary by listening to music he made, and visiting the cemetery where he's buried and placing flowers on his grave.
“I know some people ask, ‘Oh, why are we still talking about George Floyd?' They say, 'It happened. It’s over. They’ve been tried. They’re in jail,'" Cofield says. “It’s because we can never forget. Unfortunately, it was history made in the most horrific way.”
To help combat systemic racism, consider learning from or donating to these organizations:
Campaign Zero works to end police brutality in America through research-proven strategies.
ColorofChange.org works to make the government more responsive to racial disparities.
National Cares Mentoring Movement provides social and academic support to help Black youth succeed in college and beyond.
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