ORLANDO, Fla. — Some people across Florida are reflecting on the murder of George Floyd and say it still impacts them today. Justin Tucker grew up in West Orlando and created the change he wanted to see in 2020 and says he is still working to keep the movement alive today.

On May 29, 2020, hundreds gathered outside the Central Florida home that was owned by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. In the middle of it was Justin Tucker. It was his first protest. He learned about it on social media.

“Once it came across my feed and everybody is talking about it, I definitely got aware and it definitely sparked something in me based off police killing somebody and how it happened but also made me what — think about the things that happened in Orlando,” Tucker said.

That summer, Tucker took part in dozens and dozens of protests. What began as activism for Black Lives Matter, he says evolved into a movement.

“Everyday being a Black man, you probably don’t know this, but you wake up every day and it’s like a target on your back,” Tucker said.

And that’s why protest after protest, Tucker says he showed up to protest for people to understand the challenges that Black people experience living in America. He says it was a message he was willing to be injured for, arrested for, and stand for.

“I’m going to be Black the rest of my life. I will always feel targeted just based off of the situation and the country that we live in,” said Tucker.

During that summer of protests in 2020, Tucker says he was arrested for the first and only time in his life while marching for justice. He went through a pre-trial diversion program that took him two years to complete, but his mission to spread awareness for Black lives is just as important today. He reminisces on the same streets five years later.

Spectrum News asked Tucker what he thought and how he felt when he saw so many diverse people marching along with him.

“It shows solidarity, and we used to say this one chant and we always used to say silence is violence and so if you are not even speaking on the topic or you’re just kind of ignoring it like it’s not going on, that means you’re part of the problem," he said. 

Tucker just wrapped up playing professional basketball in ProA Germany. He has played in Lithuania, Mexico and Uruguay, too. He is waiting for his next contract, but in the meantime, likes to write and perform rap music.