Fighting like hell for change —and for George
On May 25, 2020, the world watched as George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin — a moment that ignited global outrage, historic protests and a long-overdue reckoning with systemic racism. Five years later, Selwyn Jones, Floyd’s uncle, isn’t just reflecting — he’s still fighting.
Jones, who co-founded the civil rights organization Justice 929 — named for the 9 minutes and 29 seconds Chauvin knelt on his nephew’s neck — is on a mission to create safer, more just communities across the country.
“I am fighting like hell every day to create change,” he said in a recent interview. “Domestic violence, missing people, wrongfully convicted, murdered Indigenous people — I don’t stop.”
As the fifth anniversary of Floyd’s death approaches, Jones said the pain still lingers. But for him, grief has become a driving force.
“Grief is gas,” he said. “I grew up on a tobacco farm in rural North Carolina. Every day we had to fight like hell to survive. All I’m doing is listening to my mama. She told me if I had a good heart and a good mind, I could achieve anything. So I listened. And I didn’t give up.”
Through Justice 929, Jones has spent the last five years traveling the country advocating for families who’ve lost loved ones to police violence and confronting the systems that failed them. From wrongful convictions to racial profiling, the organization addresses a wide range of issues deeply embedded in American life.
One of its core initiatives is pushing for a Medical Civil Rights Bill — legislation that would require immediate medical attention for individuals in police custody.
“How many people say ‘I can’t breathe’ and get ignored?” Jones asked, referencing Floyd’s last words — and those of Eric Garner in 2014. “If we had a Medical Civil Rights Bill, those officers would have had to provide medical aid instead of just continuing to hold their knee on someone’s neck.”
Jones draws a sharp contrast between how crises are handled in marginalized communities and in those with more privilege. “During the crack epidemic, we got jail cells. During the opioid epidemic, they’re giving out beds and $8 billion in support,” he said.
“Now imagine if we’d had $8 billion to treat crack addiction in our communities. We’d have better neighborhoods, stronger families. But it wasn’t about health — it was about control.”
His work through Justice 929 takes on even greater urgency when considered alongside a 2023 U.S. Department of Justice report, which found that the Minneapolis Police Department engaged in a pattern of excessive force and racial discrimination.
Between 2016 and 2022, the report found, Minneapolis police stopped Black residents at a rate 6.5 times higher than white residents and Native American residents at 7.9 times higher. The disparities in use of force were even more severe: Black residents experienced force at nine times the rate of white residents, and Native Americans nearly 14 times.
The data was especially alarming for youth. Black youth were subjected to force at 12 times the rate of their white peers, and Native youth at 14 times the rate. Even banned tactics like neck restraints were still disproportionately used — nearly 10 times more on Black individuals and 12 times more on Native individuals than on white individuals.
“These numbers speak to the very structural violence that Justice 929 and I are trying to dismantle — one policy, one app, one conversation at a time,” Jones said. “There are 2.7 million men in prison in America, and over 1.7 million of them are Black. How can we commit 40% of the world’s crime,” he asked, “when we’re the smallest population in the country? We’re not. It’s corruption, and it has to stop.”
That’s why Jones is also pushing for reform around wrongful convictions — another key focus of Justice 929. “Between 2 and 22% of people in prison are innocent. Think about that. How many lives are being wasted?” he said.
Recently, Jones traveled to Boston to speak at the Massachusetts State House, urging lawmakers to act. “I don’t go just to talk. I go to push,” he said. “People in power need to look and understand the reality that we face every day as a society.”
Beyond policy, Jones is turning to technology to prevent future tragedies. He is a co-creator of the MYTH app, a safety tool currently in beta testing that’s designed to intervene during real-time emergencies. It features a panic button that alerts designated contacts when someone is in danger, transmitting live audio, video and GPS location data.
“Let’s say you’re on a date, and it starts going south. Or you’re at the park and notice someone shady watching you,” Jones explained. “You hit the panic button, and your people can see you, hear you and come to your aid. It’s a tool to save lives before it’s too late.”
The app is expected to launch in Minneapolis in the coming weeks. “We’ve got one bug left to fix,” he said. “Then I’m going full throttle.”
Asked whether activism has always been part of his life, Jones didn’t hesitate. “I’ve always been a Black man. I’ve always been proud.
“Growing up in the South, being called out your name, getting paid less for working harder — I’ve lived that,” he said. “So this work, it’s not new. But George’s death gave me a louder microphone.”
And he’s using it. Every day, Jones said, he receives messages from people who’ve lost loved ones to police violence or gun deaths. That’s what keeps him going. “I don’t have a life in the way most people think of it. But what I do have is the ability to keep fighting. That came from the death of my nephew.”
Reflecting on the last five years, Jones acknowledges some progress — but not enough. “There’s been some changes,” he said, “but every year innocent people are still dying at the hands of the police. People are still losing their loved ones. It hasn’t stopped. We need to do better.”
As the world prepares to mark another anniversary of George Floyd’s death, Jones won’t be looking back.
“Nothing comes from staring in the rearview mirror,” he said. “You learn, and you try to change what you can. I’m going to keep fighting. For George. For all of us.”
For more information, visit Justice929.org.
Aria Binns-Zager welcomes reader responses at abinns@spokesman-recorder.com.
My 21 yr.old grandson has a sentencing date coming up in Rapid City,S.D. he’s looking at a potential of 5yrs. My concern is that this was a sting operation which I feel is unjust and I see it as being a scam. He’s never been in trouble before has worked since the age of 16,we are native american, I just feel this is not right. Very scared and worried for my grandson.