WASHINGTON — Marking the second anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, President Joe Biden last week signed an executive order to reform federal policing practices as Floyd's relatives, reform advocates and civil rights leaders looked on.
A string orchestra's slow rendition of "Hail to the Chief" lent the White House ceremony a mournful air and served as a dirge for the hopes for more substantive police reform demanded by activists that Biden and Congress have failed to enact.
"The work of our time — healing the soul of this nation — is ongoing and unfinished," Biden told the crowd, noting the frustratingly slow nature of progress. "This is a start."
