Founders scheduled to speak at Friday’s “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks March on Washington”
George Floyd’s childhood friends have created a new nonprofit organization that aims to honor his legacy by advocating for lasting advancement in communities like Houston’s Third Ward where they all grew up.
The organization, 88 C.H.U.M.P., combines the number Floyd wore as a football player at Jack Yates High School and an acronym that stands for Communities Helping Underprivileged Minorities Progress.
Vaughn Dickerson, Herbert Mouton, Jonathan Veal and Jerald Moore, a former NFL player, formed 88 C.H.U.M.P. with assistance from community organizer and Jack Yates alumnus Carl Davis. With several key initiatives, the group has started working on efforts to increase voter registration and strengthen community-police relations.
“Right when George passed, from that day on, we just all stepped forth and said we are going to come together and make a move in his name and in his honor,” said Dickerson, 45, of Pearland, who owns a construction and environmental company.
Dickerson and Mouton will represent 88 C.H.U.M.P. with assistance from community organizer and Jack Yates alumnus Carl Davis. With several key initiatives, the group has started working on efforts to increase voter registration and strengthen community-police relations.
“Right when George passed, from that day on, we just all stepped forth and said we are going to come together and make a move in his name and in his honor,” said Dickerson, 45, of Pearland, who owns a construction and environmental company.
Dickerson and Mouton will represent 88 C.H.U.M.P. this week at the Aug. 28, 2020 “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks March on Washington” organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton and National Action Network. The demonstration will demand that Congress pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, while calling on political leaders to address systemic policies that have disproportionate negative effects on communities of color.
The march, which begins at the Lincoln Memorial and continues to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, also marks the 57th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where the Rev. Dr. King delivered his iconic “I Have A Dream” speech.
“It is important for me to make this trip not only because of my relationship with George, but as a Black man,” Dickerson said. “Martin Luther King and other individuals fought for our right to vote. Police brutality is nothing new. … I have to go. We can set a precedent right now.”
Members of 88 C.H.U.M.P. are scheduled to speak during the march’s pre-program, which begins at 7 a.m. Houston time on Friday. The full program starts at 10 a.m. Houston time and the march toward the King Memorial is set for Noon Houston time.
Because of the D.C. mayor’s quarantine order and concerns about large numbers of participants from ‘high risk” COVID-19 states like Texas, the march also will have satellite rallies in Houston, Miami and Columbia, South Carolina.
Born in North Carolina, raised in Houston’s Third Ward, and forging a new life in Minnesota, George Perry Floyd Jr. suffocated on Memorial Day under the weight of a Minneapolis police officer’s knee. His death ignited a worldwide movement, including a Houston protest that drew more than 60,000 participants despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dickerson, Mouton and Veal have been discussing their efforts on national platforms. The trio appeared as guests on the Aug. 10 episode of “Crisis Conversations” – a Facebook webcast series from The Crisis, the NAACP’s magazine, during which they detailed their friendships with Floyd and how his death changed their lives. The hourlong talk has received more than 21,000 views.
Future 88 C.H.U.M.P. initiatives will focus on education, housing, career development and entrepreneurship.
“My immediate hope is to impact those who are not registered to vote and educate them that their vote does count,” said Mouton, 45, of Houston, who works as a crane operator. “My long-term reason is to continue to educate and get them to vote, not only this year and at the presidential level, but also on the local level. That is an immediate impact on our community. … I hope we as Black people understand the power of who we are, get registered and vote.”
Veal, who lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and will not be attending the march, said he hopes 88 C.H.U.M.P. will inspire others to work for change in the Houston area and beyond.
“For the short-term, I want people to stand up, to speak up and then be accountable,” said the 45-year-old, who owns Built 2 Bridge Management Group, a leadership and business development company. “Stand up means to have some backbone; don’t cower back. Once you have a backbone, use your voice in a powerful manner – then be accountable. We didn’t get into this situation overnight and we won’t get out of it overnight. We have to cultivate the mindset that this is not a sprint, but a marathon, and you have to be in it for the long haul.”