"We cannot ever forget what we saw a year ago today," said Darren White from Oakland NAACP.
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Oakland's NAACP organized the remembrance rally to honor Floyd, with speakers and poets.
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"I'm calling on people of every color to make some noise in the direction of racism," said Skyline High School student Maddux Reid.
"It's my duty to hold the grief and pain of this community and it's my duty to start the healing," said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.
George Floyd died May 25th, 2020 after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. That's how long people stood side by side in silence at this memorial.
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Floyd's death sparked protests in the Bay Area and beyond and started a national conversation about social injustice.
"How do we turn a moment of pain into a moment for change," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
East Bay Congresswoman Barbara Lee urged the Senate to pass the Police Reform Bill, in the name of George Floyd.
"We can't have a system of policing some feel safe and others feel targeted," said Lee.
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"We cannot let unchecked violence by law enforcement continue, because I don't want to get arrested and die," said Oakland NAACP President George Holland.
Oakland's new police chief says he's promising changes and reform.
"When we figure out there's someone who doesn't belong in the department, we won't hesitate to remove them," said Oakland police Chief LaRonne Armstrong.