Emotional memorial for George Floyd

In pictures from the chapel where the memorial ceremony is held, George Floyd's gold-colored coffin is surrounded by white flowers. Behind the coffin, one of the many street paintings recently painted by Floyd is displayed on a screen.

At the bottom of the painting you can read the words "I can breathe now." The sentence is a reference to "I can't breathe," some of Floyd's last words were heard before he died after a police intervention.

The keynote speaker during the memorial service is human rights activist and Baptist pastor Al Sharpton. In an interview with MSNBC, Sharpton talked about the feelings for the ceremony:

- After all my years of protesting and speaking, I feel more hopeful about this than I have in a long time. Because I see more Americans, of different ethnicities and ages, coming together and raising their voices. It makes me think we are facing a real change, Al Sharpton said in the interview.

The memorial ceremony inside the chapel was only open to a few hundred invited. In addition to family members, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson attended. Almost all guests wear mouthguards

During the ceremony, prayers were interspersed with songs, speeches and applause. Many TV channels, including CNN and the BBC, broadcast live from the chapel.

Outside the building, hundreds more gathered to express their support.

- We must stand united, even in coronation times. I have to show solidarity with George Floyd, Yousif Hussein said in an interview with The New York Times magazine before joining the many people gathered outside the chapel.

After the ceremony ends, Floyd's body will be flown to Raeford, North Carolina, where he was born, for another remembrance time. A third, and final, memorial service will then be held on Saturday in Houston where Floyd lived until his death.

The police violence that 46-year-old George Floyds, who was black, suffered in connection with his death has caused anger and sadness throughout the world. Ten days in a row, protests against racism and police violence have now taken place in American cities from New York on the east coast to Los Angeles on the west coast, predominantly peaceful.