"Get your knee of our necks". Reverend and civil rights leader Al Sharpton hammered him repeatedly on Thursday during a tribute ceremony for George Floyd. The knee, like that of police officer Derek Chauvin who asphyxiated "Big Floyd" on May 25 in Minneapolis. But also the knee of America, a metaphor for centuries of oppression of the African-American community. The memorial Thursday was also marked by 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence - corresponding to the time that George Floyd was kept on the ground - and the sobs of the mayor of Minneapolis, raised one knee in front of his coffin.
WATCH: Rev. Al Sharpton leads George Floyd's memorial service in a 8 min. 46 sec. moment of silence, symbolizing the time a police officer had a knee on his neck. pic.twitter.com/2QCYjC3gqj
- NBC News (@NBCNews) June 4, 2020The family's lawyer, Ben Crump, first wanted to “clear things up”: “It was not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd (…) it is the much too familiar pandemic racism and discrimination that killed George Floyd in the United States ”. According to the full autopsy report, Floyd tested positive for Covid-19 but it appears to be asymptomatic with no impact on his lungs.
Sobs of the mayor of minneapolis
Before the ceremony begins, Minnesota senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, as well as Governor Tim Walz meditate before the coffin of George Floyd. And then the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, knelt in tears for more than a minute.
Several black American celebrities were there, including the comic Kevin Hart and the rapper TI One by one, several members of the family of George Floyd spoke. One of his brothers, Philonise, told how they had grown up without a father, playing football and video games together, and how George was appreciated by all his neighbors and his family.
March 28
During his eulogy, Al Sharpton was combative. He denounced the "inhuman" action of the police and a "broken" criminal justice system . "Anyone must answer for his crimes, whether he is wearing blue jeans or the police blue," he insisted, before announcing a major anti-racist march on Washington. It will take place on August 28 for the anniversary of that led by Martin Luther King in 1963, with his famous speech I have a dream .
Rev. Al Sharpton: "When I looked this time and saw marchers, where in some cases young whites outnumber the blacks marching, I know that it's a different time ... America - this is the time of dealing with accountability in the criminal justice system. " https://t.co/03viM8Isf8 pic.twitter.com/UBiMCKESxq
- ABC News (@ABC) June 4, 2020"You changed the world, George," insisted Sharpton. Condemning the violence of “a minority”, he welcomed demonstrations bringing together “all races” in the United States, which are “spreading to the whole world, from Germany to England. Before addressing a message to racists: "Your time has expired, we are entering a new era. "
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