Angela Harrelson didn’t have a choice.
When Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin murdered her nephew, George Perry Floyd, Harrelson — his closest relative living in the Twin Cities — was thrust into public life.
Overnight, Harrelson became a family spokesperson and, more broadly, a leader in the fight for racial justice in America. At first, she was reluctant. But Harrelson leaned on her faith and had an epiphany in the form of a message from God, she said. Floyd managed to say, “I can’t breathe” 27 times as Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. She knew she could be strong, too.
“If I gave Perry the strength to say those words, ‘I can’t breathe,’ surely I can give you the strength to be a voice for him,” Harrelson said, recalling God’s message to her.
Harrelson, 62, has found that strength in the five years since her nephew’s murder, and helped others do the same. In 2022, she published her book “Lift Your Voice: How My Nephew George Floyd’s Murder Changed the World,” and stepped fully into her role as a public figure.
She remains active as a speaker, and as part of Rise and Remember, a nonprofit dedicated to memorializing Floyd’s death and fighting for a better future. She stays connected to the community she’s built since Floyd’s murder. At 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in south Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed, Harrelson seems at ease. She waves to acquaintances and hugs old friends, asking about their families.
“I feel like contributing to the community is part of my continuing journey toward healing,” Harrelson said.
The spotlight turned to Harrelson immediately after Floyd’s murder. Splitting time between coordinating with relatives, talking to the press, and following the trial of Chauvin and three fellow Minneapolis officers present at the killing took all her attention. The whole process was about her nephew’s death, but she didn’t get to sit with that loss.
“When he was killed we all got thrown into this chaos, and I don’t know if I got the chance to grieve,” Harrelson said.
‘You have to speak up’
When Harrelson was growing up in rural North Carolina in the 1960s and ’70s, she lived with constant discrimination. Her father had to fight to get the school bus to pick up her 14 siblings, and when they rode it, they were made to stand. They faced jeers and at times, physical attacks. One day, she recalled, a white girl said it wasn’t right to make the Black students stand. That moment stood out for Harrelson. Taking action when witnessing a wrong is necessary, she said, especially if you have power and influence.
“When you’re in a position to make a difference and you’re the only one, you have to speak up and say it with all your chest,” Harrelson said.
When she finished high school, Harrelson moved to Iowa for college and was exposed to a new kind of racism in the North. It lacked the personal venom and frankness of its Southern counterpart, but was fearful and suspicious, she said.
Her life exposed her to a broad cross-section of Americans. She served in three branches of the military — Army National Guard, Navy Reserve and Air Force Reserve. Her commission as an Air Force officer brought her to Minnesota in 1998. She’s a registered nurse who treats patients from all walks of life.
After Floyd’s murder, Harrelson took time away from work. But now she’s back in a clinical setting, helping mental health patients at Regions Hospital. Recently, when a Black patient came in, a white colleague made a remark assuming the patient would be difficult to deal with. Harrelson immediately spoke up and said they wouldn’t be stereotyping anyone. Later the colleague apologized, and the two embraced, Harrelson said.
“I’m a fighter now, but I always try to do it with love,” she said.
The publication of her book in 2022 led to regular engagements as a public speaker. What started as a journal turned into a real project with the encouragement of friends and media members Harrelson got to know after Floyd’s murder. She teamed up with attorney and author Michael Levin to write the book, which reflected on her life and family history, leading up to Floyd’s death.
“It was a really cathartic process. At first I was just writing stuff down to get through it, but then editors got involved,” Harrelson said.
‘I’m always optimistic. I just think it’s slow’
She lives with the what-ifs. What if Thomas Lane, the officer who asked Chauvin if Floyd should be rolled onto his side, had pushed harder; what if the officers at the scene had used their CPR training to help Floyd immediately once he lost consciousness. Mostly, she wishes there was something in Chauvin’s mind saying “This was a life, this was a human life.”
Harrelson feels some things have changed for the better since Floyd’s murder. She’s happy with a Minnesota law restraining officers from using chokeholds and ordering officers to act if they see a colleague violating use-of-force policies. She wants to see qualified immunity, which protects police from damages in civil lawsuits, removed.
She lives in Eagan, but spends a lot of time in Minneapolis, especially near where her nephew was killed. She sees police go by, but rarely sees them exit their squad cars. She wishes they would be out in the community more, talking with people.
“I’m always optimistic, I just think it’s slow,” Harrelson said of progress since Floyd’s murder.
Harrelson misses Floyd, who she and other family members called Perry, and thinks about how he handled himself in the community. Floyd was charismatic and loving, she said.
“If it would have been someone else killed, he would have been heavily involved,” she said.
Harrelson lost a nephew, but said she’s gained a community in the five years since Floyd’s death. She’s also gained a powerful mission — to ensure he’s remembered, to stand up for what’s right, to fight against racism and stereotypes, and to prevent future wrongs.
“Through it all I’ve gotten stronger, and I don’t mind speaking up now,” she said.
