A memorial service in Minneapolis was held to honour George Floyd on Thursday, 4 June 2020.
While close friends and families gathered in honor of their loved one, thousands streamed the memorial service online to salute and grieve George Floyd.
Georger Floyd was the unarmed black man who died after a white police officer pinned him to the ground and pressed his knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
The memorial service took place at the Frank J. Lindquist Sanctuary at
North Central University, located about 3 miles north of the intersection where George was arrested on Memorial Day.
Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy at the service.
Sharpton, the founder of the National Action Network, denounced racism and called for accountability in the criminal justice system.
Addressing the crowd, he says: “The reason we could never be who we wanted to be and dreamed of being is you kept your knee on our neck.
“What happened to Floyd happens every day in this country, in education, in health services, and in every area of American life
“It is time for us to stand up in George’s name and say get your knee of our necks.”
Following his eulogy, Sharpton directed attendees to join him in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds — the same amount of time than an officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck while he was in custody.
People at the memorial stood in silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds.
“That’s a long time. “That’s how long he was laying there,” Sharpton says afterwards
Another memorial service is scheduled for Saturday in Raeford, North Carolina where Floyd was born.
A funeral will be held in Houston, Texa, on Tuesday – Floyd lived much of his life there until he moved to Minneapolis.
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