Bay Area vigils and rallies to honor the memory of George Floyd

OAKLAND, Calif. - Vigils and events nationwide are planned on Tuesday to honor the life of George Floyd, who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer one year ago today. 

In Washington, D.C., President Joe Biden set a deadline Tuesday for Congress to have passed a police reform bill that is still stalled in the Senate in Floyd's honor. 

In the last year, several states, including California, began to ban certain police practices including kneeling on people's backs and airways, and certain kinds of chokeholds. 

Biden is also scheduled to meet with Floyd's family later in the day. 

Aside from legislation, there are events occurring in the Bay Area, including a prayer vigil on the Peninsula. 

"We are called to engage this topic," said Palo Alto Vineyard Church Pastor Susan Van Riesen. "Not in our little corners, not just our churches, not just ethnic gatherings or generational categorizations or individuals but today we are engaging the scorch of racial injustice, together." 

In Oakland, a number of demonstrations are planned.

The local NAACP is planning a youth uprising along MacArthur Boulevard. And activists calling to defund the police are holding a noon event in front of the George Floyd mural on Broadway and Telegraph.

Meanwhile, police have reported a surge in violent crimes this year compared to last year.