Series of US memorials dedicated to Floyd’s life
MOURNERS converged in Minneapolis yesterday for the first in a series of a memorials to George Floyd, whose death at the hands of police has sparked turbulent protests around the world against racial injustice.
The afternoon event was set for North Central University, where civil rights leader the Rev Al Sharpton was scheduled to be among those eulogising the 46-year-old Floyd.
“He was a human being. He had family, he had dreams, he had hopes. The real duty of one with this type of assignment is to underscore the value of the human life that was taken, which gives the reason the movement was occurring,” Sharpton said ahead of the gathering.
Inside the sanctuary, a golden casket was flanked by white and purple flowers, and an image was projected above the pulpit of a mural painted at the street corner where Floyd was pinned to the ground by police.
The sanctuary normally seats 1 000, but because of the coronavirus outbreak, the capacity was reduced to about 500.
Memorials are set to take place in three cities over six days: after the Minneapolis event, Floyd’s body will go to Raeford, North Carolina, where he was born, for a public viewing and private family service on Saturday.
On Monday, a public viewing will be held in Houston, where he was raised and lived most of his life. A 500-person service will take place on Tuesday at the Fountain of Praise church.
The farewells for Floyd – an outof-work bouncer who was arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store and died after a white officer pressed his knee on the handcuffed black man’s neck for several minutes, come as demonstrations across the US and around the globe continue.
In the US, where protests had been marked by bouts of lawlessness earlier in the week, relative quiet continued for a second straight night on Wednesday after a decision by prosecutors to charge the three other Minneapolis officers at the scene of Floyd’s death with aiding and abetting a murder.
Authorities also filed a new, more serious murder charge – second-degree, up from third-degree – against the officer at the centre of the case, Derek Chauvin. If convicted, they could get 40 years in prison.
The three officers newly charged in Floyd’s death – Thomas Lane, J Kueng and Tou Thao – were due to make a first court appearance yesterday. Chauvin is not due in court until Monday.
Meanwhile, in Georgia, a white father and son charged in another killing of a black man that has raised racial tensions in the US made a court appearance yesterday via video.
A state investigator testified that the man accused of shooting Ahmaud Arbery, Travis McMichael, uttered a racist epithet as he stood over Arbery’s body.
The new charges in Minneapolis punctuated an unprecedented week in recent American history in which largely peaceful protests took place in communities of all sizes, but were rocked by bursts of violence, including deadly attacks on officers, theft, vandalism and arson.
In Minneapolis alone, more than 220 buildings were damaged or burnt, with damage topping $55 million (R929m), city officials said.
In the US, more than 10 000 people have been arrested. More than a dozen deaths have been reported.
From Paris and London to Tel Aviv, Sydney, Johannesburg and Rio de Janeiro, Floyd’s death has triggered demonstrations, with protesters decrying inequality, police brutality and other problems in their countries.