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ROBERTSON WAS 79. FIVE YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD. HIS NAME, OF COURSE, BECAME A SYMBOL FOR RACIAL JUSTICE AROUND THE COUNTRY, SPARKING A CALL FOR CHANGE RIGHT HERE IN IOWA AN IMPACT SOME SAY IS FADING. ����vlog JODI LONG EXPLAINS. I CAN’T BREATHE. THE KILLING OF AN UNARMED BLACK MAN BY A WHITE POLICE OFFICER IN MINNESOTA IGNITED A NATIONWIDE RACIAL RECKONING IN 2020. IOWANS RESPONDED WITH THEIR VOICE AND WITH THEIR ACTIONS. ANTHONY PARNELL WAS A LAW STUDENT BACK THEN. HE NOW DEDICATES HIS LIFE’S WORK TO FIGHTING FOR RACIAL EQUALITY. SO ON ONE END, IT IS REALLY SOBERING. BUT ON THE OTHER END, IT HAS TO BE INSPIRING. IT HAS TO BE MOTIVATING. OTHERWISE I’D SIT AND DO NOTHING. THE MOMENT WAS THE BIRTH OF THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT IN DES MOINES. IT NOW GOES BY THE BLACK LIBERATION MOVEMENT. ACCORDING TO ITS WEBSITE, BLM SAYS THE CITY OF DES MOINES HAS UNDERGONE MANY CHANGES SINCE THE 2020 UPRISINGS. THE GROUP FEELS NOT ALL OF THOSE CHANGES ARE POSITIVE. IN A STATEMENT, THE ORGANIZATION SAYS, QUOTE, WE WISH TO SIMPLY MAKE OUR CITY AND STATE SOFTER AND SAFER FOR THE BLACK FOLKS WHO INHABIT IT. NAACP PRESIDENT BETTY ANDREWS REMEMBERS THE WIDESPREAD COMMUNITY RESPONSE. PEOPLE WERE GENUINELY CONCERNED. OUR NAACP MEMBERSHIP WENT UP. SO. THAT CATAPULTED US IN SOME WAYS. AND IT ALSO PUT UP A WALL FOR FOR THOSE THAT WANTED TO FIND A WAY TO RESIST THE CHANGE. ANDREWS BELIEVES POLICIES IMPLEMENTED AROUND THE GEORGE FLOYD ERA MEANT TO HELP BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE, ARE NOW BEING STRIPPED AWAY. WE’RE SEEING AN ATTACK ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION. DAYS AGO, GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS SIGNED A LAW BANNING CITIZEN POLICE REVIEW BOARDS IN CITIES WITH CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONS. THE NAACP SAYS WITHOUT REVIEW BOARDS, THE PUBLIC CAN’T HOLD POLICE ACCOUNTABLE. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DISPARITIES THAT COME INTO PLAY WHEN IT COMES TO POLICING, IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO KIND OF TAKE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A REVIEW AND TO CHECK IN ON WHY THERE ARE THOSE DISPARITIES. DES MOINES POLICE CHIEF DANA WINGERT LED THE DEPARTMENT IN 2020. HE CALLS THE WEEKS OF UNREST SOME OF THE MOST CHALLENGING MOMENTS OF HIS CAREER. THE FIRST THING I LEARNED IS WE WEREN’T PREPARED, PREPARED AND EQUIPPED TO DEAL WITH THAT. WE JUST WEREN’T. CURRENT MPD CHIEF MICHAEL MCTAGGART TELLS ����vlog NOTHING HAS IMPACTED POLICING MORE THAN THE EVENTS OF 2020. HE GOES ON TO SAY IT’S EVEN MORE IMPORTANT TO NOT LOSE FOCUS ON HOW FAR WE HAVE COME IN THE YEARS THAT HAVE FOLLOWED AND OUR PATH TOGETHER INTO THE FUTURE. COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERSHIPS HAVE NEVER BEEN STRONGER. FIVE YEARS LATER, ACTIVISTS LIKE ANDREWS REMAIN HOPEFUL WE CAN MAKE CHANGE. WE CAN WORK TOGETHER. AND AGAIN, WE OWE IT TO GEORGE FLOYD AND MANY OTHERS LIKE HIM TO STAND UP AND STAND UP TO INJUSTICE AND PUSH FOR EQUITY FOR ALL. IN DES MOINES, JODI LONG, ����vlog EIGHT NEWS, IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. CITY DES MOINES SAYS IN THE FIVE YEARS SINCE 2020, IT HAS SEEN RESULTS OF POLICY CHANGES AND INITIATIVES IMPLEMENTED DURING THAT TIME TO BETTER RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN POLICE AND THE COMMUNITY. WE HAVE A COMPLETE LIST OF THOSE PROGRAMS AND POLICIES. RIGHT NOW, IT’S ON OUR ����vlog MOBILE APP, AS WELL AS EXTENDED COVERAGE O