Brothers and sisters of George Floyd at his funeral in Houston, June 9, 2020. - David J. Phillip / AP / SIPA

"It didn't just change America, it changed the world. At George Floyd's funeral in Houston on Tuesday, elected official Al Green and others expressed their hope that the local boy, who died for 8 minutes and 46 seconds under a policeman's knee, in Minneapolis, at the end of May, did not “die in vain”. As protests continue around the world, Joe Biden insisted in a video released at the ceremony: “The hour for racial justice has come. "

For more than two hours, the family of George Floyd, elected officials, civil rights figures and the Reverend Al Sharpton succeeded each other on the microphone in front of 500 guests - relatives but also actor Jamie Foxx or boxer Floyd Mayweather - gathered in Houston's Fountain of Praise Church. On many masks, one could read the last words of George Floyd, “I can't breathe”, and the slogans taken up by the demonstrators, “Justice for George Floyd” and “No justice , no peace ”.

"His crime is to be born black"

For the elected Al Green, no doubt, “the crime (of George Floyd) is to be born black. The Texan representative asked for the creation of "a ministry of reconciliation" and that part of the police budget be "injected into our communities".

“I'm not here today as a Democrat, we're not here as Republicans… George Floyd was not expendable, this is why we're here," Rep. Al Green says. Https://t.co/jSt2DyiZSf

" We're going to celebrate the life of George Floyd today. "Pic.twitter.com/0u82tagNSQ

- ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 9, 2020

"Who would have thought that his name would be mentioned in South Africa, Canada, Nairobi, Berlin or South Korea. We honor him today, not because he was perfect, but because he gave his last breath so that we can all breathe, ”thundered Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. He announced that the city had decided to make June 9, 2020 "George Perry's day" - his relatives called him by his middle name, Perry Jr.

"The hour of racial justice has come"

Joe Biden, for his part, intervened via a recorded video, broadcast during the ceremony. "We can no longer turn away from the racism that hurts our souls," said former Barack Obama vice president, who insisted, "The hour for racial justice has struck" in the United States.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner eulogizes George Floyd: "We honor him today, because when he took his last breath, the rest of us will now be able to breathe." https://t.co/jSt2DyABgP pic.twitter.com/B9UgHELN6k

- ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 9, 2020

In his eulogy, finally, the Reverend Al Sharpton demanded that "justice be done" and that the police officer Derek Chauvin go "to prison for this crime". And then he invited the families of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown and other victims of police violence or racist crimes, present in the assembly, to rise, concluding: "As long as a life black will not have as much value as a white life, our fight will continue. "

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  • United States
  • Texas
  • Racism
  • Police violence
  • George Floyd
  • World