Daily US Times: ”Pandemic of racism” led to the death of George Floyd, lawyer for the ill-fated African American has told at a memorial service.
People who gathered at Thursday’s tribute stood in silence for eight minutes, 46 seconds, the amount of time Floyd was alleged to be on the ground under the control of police in Minneapolis.
Hundreds of people attended the tribute service, which also heard a eulogy from civil rights activist RevAl Sharpton.
He said: ”It is time to stand up and say get your knee off our necks.”
Mr Floyd’s killing was captured on video, has sparked massive outrage in the US a wave of protests have spread in cities across the country.
Three police officers charged with aiding and abetting Mr Floyd’s murder made their first appearance in courts, a few blocks away. The judge said that the bail was set at $1m (£800,000) but would be lowered to $750,000 if they handed in any guns they owned and met other conditions.
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer, has been charged with second-degree murder and is due to appear in court on Monday. He was the officer who continued to kneel on Mr Floyd’s neck as he pleaded that he could not breathe.
Over the past eight days, the vast majority of demonstrations have been peaceful, but some have descended into rioting and violence, with curfews imposed in a number of cities.
What happened at the memorial?
Lawyer Benjamin Crump said while addressing Thursday’s memorial service that it was “not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd”.
“It was that other pandemic. The pandemic of racism and discrimination.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, members of Mr Floyd’s family, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were among several hundred people at the service at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis.
Philonise Floyd, one of Mr Floyd’s brothers, described how the family had been poor when he and Mr Floyd were young and had washed their clothes in the sink and dried them in the oven.
He said: “It’s crazy man, all these people came to see my brother, it’s amazing he touched so many hearts.”
Reverend Al Sharpton meanwhile demanded accountability, saying “We won’t stop,” referring to protests that have taken place in every US state.
“We’re going to keep going until we change the whole system of justice.”
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