George Floyd’s memorial service on Thursday was poignant and powerful as his loved ones, Hollywood stars and politicians gathered in Minneapolis to honor the man who was killed by a police officer with a knee on his neck.
The service, the first of several in different cities over the next week, mixed loving, humorous moments from Floyd’s life with strong messages calling for justice and equality for all Americans.
Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy inside a sanctuary at North Central University, and strongly rebuked President Donald Trump for his Bible photo op, without mentioning him by name.
“I’ve been preaching since I was a little boy. I’ve never seen anyone hold a Bible like that, but I’ll leave that alone,” Sharpton said. “Since he held the Bible, if he is watching us today, I would like him to open that Bible. I’d like him to read Ecclesiastes 3, ‘To every season, there is a time and a purpose…’ when we see what is going on in the streets of this country and in Europe, around the world, you need to know what time it is.”
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The civil rights leader called Trump out for his “Make America Great Again” slogan.
“Y’all talk about making America great. Great for who and when?,” he said. “We gonna make America great for everybody.”
He also criticized Trump for questioning former President Barack Obama’s birthplace.
“And, you ask him for his birth certificate, because you can’t take your knee off our neck,” he said. Sharpton also vowed to step up the fight for justice.
“We gonna organize in the next few months. We gonna be led by the Floyd family. We gonna be led by the Garner family. And it’s going to be not just about who’s in the White House, but the state house,” he said.
Among the notable celebrities and politicians in attendance were Kevin Hart, Master P, Tyrese Gibson, Tiffany Haddish, Ludicrous, Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King III, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and members of Congress, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, Sheila Jackson-Lee and Ayanna Pressley.
George Floyd’s death on May 25 sparked nationwide protests and calls for police reforms. All four officers involved in the killing have now been charged.
