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Tuesday 9 June 2020 19:22
Private service to be streamed online after memorials across US
George Floyd is to be buried in his home town of Houston after his death during an arrest last month ignited worldwide protests over racial injustice and calls for police reform.
A private funeral for the 46-year-old, who was filmed gasping for air and pleading for help as a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck, comes after thousands of people paid tribute at a public memorial service on Monday.
One of the speakers announced for the private service was former Vice President Joe Biden, who met with the family on Monday to discuss Mr Floyd’s life. He delivered his speech via video and told Mr Floyd’s daughter that the father would be “so proud” of his daughter. In contrast, President Donald Trump will remain in Washington DC during the service.
A Minnesota judge has set bail of $1.25m for Derek Chauvin, the officer charged with second-degree murder over Mr Floyd’s death.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city’s attorney was currently drafting an executive order for him to sign that would ban police from using chokeholds and strangle holds.
“In this city, we will require de-escalation. In this city, you have to give a warning before you shoot. In this city, you have a duty to intervene. In this city, we will require comprehensive reporting. In this city, you must exhaust, all alternatives before shooting. And there will be other things in this executive order,” Mr Turner said.
Calls have increased across the nation to pass police reform that includes banning chokeholds.
He also declared 9 June “George Perry Floyd Day”.
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee announced during her funeral speech that former President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton both sent presidential letters to George Floyd’s family.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi also sent a flag to the family.
Notably absent from any mentions was current President Donald Trump. His rival in the November election, former Vice President Joe Biden, gave a speech earlier in the service.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas’ 18th District used her time to demand justice for George Floyd and others who’ve experienced similar abuse at the hands of police.
In her speech, she referenced 8 minutes and 46 seconds, which was how long former officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against Mr Floyd’s neck.
“We want justice,” she said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get 8 minutes and 46 seconds out of my DNA. I don’t know if I will ever be able to overcome the words “I can’t breathe”.
Ms Jackson Lee added: “But what I will say is the assignment of George Floyd and the purpose will mean there will be more more 8 minutes and 46 seconds of police brutality … There will be no more 8 minutes of 46 seconds that you will be in pain without getting justice. He’s an assignment turned into a purpose. I say to all of those that are here … we will not sit down like Rosa Parks said until justice comes.”
Representative Al Green says George Floyd was not ‘expendable’
Congressman Al Green of Texas’ 9th District said George Floyd’s life was not “expendable” in tribute.
The congressman went on to share what was already being done in Texas and across the nation in police reform to prevent another death like his, such as making it illegal to place a foot or knee on a citizen’s neck. Body cameras are also required to be turned on by all officers.
“We have got to have reconciliation. This country has not reconciled its differences with us,” he said. “It’s time to have someone who is going to make it his or hers business to seek reconciliation for black Americans in America.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden delivered a powerful message during George Floyd’s service via video.
“You’re so brave,” Mr Biden said Mr Floyd’s daughter, whom he met on Monday. “Daddy is looking down and he is so proud of you.”
Mr Biden added that justice for George Floyd will help bring racial justice in the US.
Our story here:
Reverend Dr Mary White spoke during George Floyd’s funeral service, and she referenced his plea for his “mama” while a Minneapolis cop held his need against his neck.
“We thank you for the life of George Floyd, oh God. That at a moment he called out for his mama, we believe that the ears of mamas across this nation reared up. That the ears of mamas across this world heard him cry even though for one mama, all mamas began to wail. We began to wail for our children. We began to wail for our grandchildren. We wail for men across this world because of one mama’s call,” she said at Fountain of Praise Church in Houston, Texas.
Derek Chauvin, the officer who held his knee against Mr Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, now faces second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges.
Football player JJ Watt was pictured among other Houston Texans attending George Floyd’s private funeral service on Tuesday.
Other people in attendance include chairman Cal McNair and head coach Bill O’Brien.
The funeral for George Floyd is available to watch via livestream.
Watch it here:
The funeral for George Floyd looks different than other funerals before the coronavirus pandemic.
Attendees were encouraged to wear masks during the entirety of the service. Speakers were seen taking off their masks briefly to speak before putting the mask back on.
The mics used were also replaced between speakers to prevent the spread of the virus.
This is one of the largest funerals seen in recent months, with nearly 500 people in attendances, due to social distancing guidelines passed across the US.
The Fountain of Praise Church in Houston continues to fill with mourners ready to celebrate the George Floyd’s life in one final service.
Mr Floyd’s family was filmed walking in all clad in white to honour their family member who died two weeks ago at the hands of former Minneapolis police officers.
Reverend Al Sharpton shared a picture before the service of himself with one of Mr Floyd’s nephews and the family’s lawyer Benjamin Crump.
There will be an emphasis on police brutality and the need for reform at today’s private funeral to honour the life of George Floyd.
The family of Ahmaud Arbery, Botham Jean, and Eric Garner will be in attendance at the funeral. All three black men were killed at the hands of white former and current police officers.
Police brutality has taken centerstage in recent weeks after Mr Floyd died at the hands of former Minneapolis police officers.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is among those invited to attend the private funeral of George Floyd in Houston following his death at the hands of former Minneapolis police officers two weeks ago.
Not only was Mr Biden invited to attend, but he will also speak at the funeral. In contrast, President Donald Trump will not be in attendance at the service.
Mr Floyd’s family also met with the former vice president on Monday ahead of the service. They have only spoken to Mr Trump about the death of Mr Floyd over the phone in a brief call.
The private memorial to celebrate George Floyd’s life will start at 12pm EST, or 11am local time, at Houston’s Fountain of Praise Church.
To uphold social distancing guidelines, only 500 people will be allowed in the church for the service. But the service will also be live-streamed for others to view.
His body will then be transported to Pearland Houston Memorial Gardens following the service, with the last mile of the transport in a horse-drawn carriage.
Microsoft employees ask CEO to support Black Lives Matter in leaked letter
250 Microsoft employees have signed a letter addressed to the company’s executives asking that it takes greater action in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.
The message, leaked to OneZero, requests that Microsoft formally announces its support for the movement, cancels contracts with the Seattle Police Department, and the resignation of the city’s mayor.
Microsoft’s Redmond campus, the informal name of its corporate headquarters, is in a Seattle suburb.
Adam Smith has the full story:
US Attorney general William Barr has contradicted President Donald Trump’s claim that he visited the White House bunker for an “inspection,” amid George Floyd protests.
It was widely reported that on 29 May Mr Trump went down to the emergency bunker, which was created to keep the president safe, with his wife Melania and son Barron, when protesters loudly demonstrated outside the White House.
Mr Trump and his family were reportedly down in the bunker for around an hour, according to sources who spoke to CNN, in what the president claimed was a bunker inspection.
James Crump reports:
One street in each NYC borough to be named ‘Black Lives Matter’
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the renaming of streets in his press conference on Tuesday.
“What will be clear – the street name and on the streets of our city -– is that message that now this city must fully, fully deeply feel and this nation must as well, that Black Lives Matter,” Mr de Blasio said.
Each of the locations would be praised in “crucial” areas to provide visibility. One of those streets will lead up to city hall, the mayor said.
Protests against abuse of police power during lockdown spread through France
With France confined to fight the virus, a video circulated online in April showing a young man lying on the bloody ground next to two police officers — and quickly set off protests in struggling neighbourhoods around the Paris region.
Sometime before, the man had been on a motorcycle. Then, he crashed into a suddenly opened police car door. Whether the door was opened on purpose or not is unclear, but what was clear was the anger the video sparked. A protest that night in the town of Villeneuve-la-Garenne led to others in a dozen Paris suburbs and similar neighbourhoods around France in the ensuing days.
Arno Pedram reports:
Lafayette Park in Washington DC was closed off last week after protests heightened.
The decision to close the park was to prevent protesters from getting closer to the White House and came after the Trump administration ordered the dispersal of people last Monday so the president could walk to a church.
The dispersal caused backlash for the Trump administration, though, because it appeared police used gas, rubber bullets, and flash bangs on peaceful protesters to clear them. The Black Lives Matter movement has since filed a lawsuit, stating the moment infringed on people’s First Amendment rights to protest.
Now, parts of the park will reopen as protests slow down. It is unclear if the fence near the White House will be taken down.
Donald Trump has pushed another unproven conspiracy theory with his Twitter followers, this time involving the incident with Buffalo, New York cops and an elderly man.
The president, while citing far-right news organisation OANN, shared a theory that the footage showing cops shoving an elderly man was just a set up, despite the man bleeding from his ears following the fall.
Chris Riotta has the story:
More details emerge into the plans for George Floyd’s private service in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday.
HIs body will then travel from the church to Pearland Houston Memorial Gardens in a horse-drawn carriage, according to a release from the City of Pearland.
“We do know Mr. Floyd will travel the last mile of the funeral procession in a horse-drawn carriage,” the statement added.
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