Voices of Resilience
The Voices of Resilience podcast is a Gaylord News production. I am your host, LJ Golston. Eight of my fellow Gaylord College classmates and I spent weeks embedded in the George Floyd Square neighborhood and the Greenwood District of Tulsa. We
We are grateful to The Agape Movement, who hosted our visit in Minneapolis and the Black Wall Street Times, who did the same while we were in Tulsa. Both organizations connected us with the people directly impacted by the communities’ history.
We could not have done this without Brenda Stewart, Steve Floyd, Marquise Brown from Agape and KingDemetrius Penndelton provided us a podcast space in his Listen Media Gallery. In Tulsa, Eddie Washington and Nehemia Frank were instrumental in connecting us to descendants of the massacre and sponsored our working space at Atento Captial.
Voices of Resilience
Thomas McLaurin: Moving past the pain to find justice and community
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The anniversary of George Floyd's death draws people from all walks of life to George Floyd Square, a place of reflection and resilience. Among the visitors are those carrying the deepest pain: his family. During our time at the Square, I met Thomas McLaurin, George’s cousin. Although he was busy that day, Thomas later joined the podcast via Zoom to share his story and insights.
Thomas, along with Roger Floyd, George’s uncle, founded the Floyd Family Center for Social Equity. This family-led initiative is dedicated to transforming tragedy into triumph and pain into purpose. The center’s mission is to address inequities in underserved and underfunded communities, creating a legacy of hope and justice in honor of George Floyd.