Ambassador Godfrey: George Floyd’s Death Is a Reminder of U.S.’s Continuing Struggle To Achieve True Equality

Anthony Godfrey (Beta/Milos Miskov)

U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Anthony Godfrey has said that the death of African-American George Floyd in the U.S. and other tragic events represented reminders of “long, continuing struggle” of the U.S. to achieve “true quality for all.”

“The deaths of George Floyd and others are tragic reminders of our nation’s long, continuing struggle to achieve true equality for all. As an American citizen, I feel deep pain when confronted by the fact that injustices still exist and that racism is still an issue we confront as a society,” Ambassador Godfrey said in the evening on June 1, according to a U.S. Embassy’s post on Facebook.

The ambassador also said that “serious obstacles remain on the path toward that lofty goal embodied in our Declaration of Independence that all people are created equal.”

“But we cannot lose hope.  As U.S. President Donald Trump has said, we must now redouble our efforts to ensure that healing and justice can overcome hatred and chaos.  Our fundamental freedoms of speech, press, and assembly make the United States an open nation,” Godfrey stressed, expressing the hope that honest discourse and peaceful dialogue will help the country achieve true reconciliation in American society, as well as security, equal opportunity and dignity for all.  

Floyd died in Minneapolis on May 25, after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white police officer’s knee. The incident has triggered protests and violence in the U.S.