Sunday marks five years since the death of George Floyd

MINNEAPOLIS (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Sunday marks five years since the death of George Floyd.

Events have been taking place all weekend in Minneapolis to mark the occasion, with people coming together Saturday for a Rise and Remember Festival at the same spot where Floyd was killed, with messages being shared were filled with hope.

Five years after a dark day, there's also light.

"I'm feeling hopeful, so this is very special for me that Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the murder took place of George Floyd, we will not forget," said one Minneapolis resident.

At the Rise and Remember Festival, the community not only recalls the pain, but Brooklyn Center Mayor April Graves says joy has sprouted as well.

"I really do think that love is much stronger than hate," Mayor Graves expressed.

Graves says though lately it may feel easier to succumb to the latter, but they won't let it happen.

"With some of the recent changes at the federal level, and some of the rumors around potential pardons and issues around the consent decree, you know, it's like an intentional reharming of the community. But that doesn't mean that we're going to allow it to break us," Graves remarked.

Their strategy? Joy.

"As a Black man, I was sad. I was crushed. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to scream. I wanted to fight. I wanted to do a lot of things. but I'm going to show up here with joy," said Anthony Davis, a former NBA player.

Davis and Alberder Gillespie help lead organizations dedicated to players and their families.

"I think it also comes from, we are determined to move forward. We are determined to let not the pain that was here be the last word, but joy be the last word," Gillespie shared.

"At times when things happen, we have to do this. We can't run in opposite directions," Davis added.

They say there's a long road ahead for healing, but they'll walk it together.