AUSTIN, Texas -- A leading voice on race relations says George Floyd's death represents a national tragedy that should be turned into an opportunity for change.

"What I hope happens here, is that we turn this national crisis into a generational opportunity. And that opportunity is to really build what Martin Luther King, Jr. called a beloved community that was free of not just racism but was also free of racial segregation," said Peniel Joseph, founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University of Texas at Austin.

Joseph says despite the violence from some over the weekend, these protests are really against racial injustice. He says to achieve that more just society the nation needs fewer police and more investments in racially segregated and economically impoverished communities.

Click the video link above to watch our full interview with Joseph.