Celebrities, activists, others gather to remember Floyd

The mural of George Floyd projected above his golden coffin, where mourners knelt and cried, paused and prayed at his memorial service Thursday had a simple message: “I can breathe now.”

Celebrities, civil rights activists, politicians and family members of Floyd gathered in Minneapolis to pay their respects to the man whose death at the hands of police has sparked protests nationwide and calls for an end to racial injustice. Mourners wore masks and bumped elbows, rather than hug or shake hands, at the memorial taking place in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The memorial at the Frank J Lindquist sanctuary at North Central University was the first service to be held in the next six days across three communities where Floyd was born, grew up and died.

Projected above the pulpit inside the sanctuary was the blue and orange mural that's been painted at the site of a makeshift memorial in the neighbourhood where Floyd pleaded for air on May 25 as a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into the handcuffed black man's neck for several minutes even after Floyd stopped moving and pleading for air.

A small band and choir sang the gospel classic “Goin' Up Yonder” as mourners gathered.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson entered and prayed for several moments over Floyd's golden casket. Others followed his lead, including Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Jackson and Klobuchar greeted each other and spoke for a few minutes, before heading to their seats.

Others in attendance included US Reps. Ilhan Omar, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Ayana Pressley and Joyce Beatty; rappers T.I., with his wife Tiny, Ludacris, and Tyrese Gibson; comedians Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish; and actress Marsai Martin.

The Rev. Al Sharpton was among those who planned to speak, as organizers of the memorials planned to acknowledge the meaning Floyd had in life to his large family and the broader meaning he has assumed in death.

“It would be inadequate if you did not regard the life and love and celebration the family wants,” Sharpton said. “But it would also be inadequate ... if you acted as though we're at a funeral that happened under natural circumstances.” “The family is not independent of the community," he said.

"The family wants to see something happen.” After the first service, Floyd's body will go to Raeford, North Carolina, the state where he was born 46 years ago, for a two-hour public viewing and private service for the family on Saturday.

Finally, a public viewing will be held Monday in Houston, where he was raised and lived most of his life. A 500-person service on Tuesday will take place at The Fountain of Praise church and will include addresses from Sharpton, family attorney Ben Crump, and the Rev. Remus E. Wright, the family pastor.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, may attend, and other political figures and celebrities are expected as well. A private burial will follow.

Due to the coronavirus, Fountain of Praise will be limited to 20% of its capacity and visitors will be required to wear masks.

Floyd's final journey was designed with intention, Sharpton said. Having left Houston for Minneapolis in 2014 in search of a job and a new life, Floyd will retrace that path.

"They collectively said we need to make the first memorial statement from the city he chose to go to make a living, that ended his life,” he said.

The size of Floyd's memorial reflects his impact and the need to recognize the widespread grief his death has caused, said Tashel Bordere, an expert on grief and assistant professor at the University of Missouri.

It also reflects a tradition particularly in African American communities that large funerals can provide the recognition that a lost loved one struggled to receive in life.

But, she added, "grief goes far beyond the funeral; healing goes far beyond the funeral. Justice is experienced when people feel safe in their communities and in their lives.”

Clayborne Carson, director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, said the impact of Floyd's death would ultimately be measured by changes in how police treat African Americans and the disparate rates at which black men are incarcerated.

“Otherwise, it'll just be the next George Floyd and the one after that,” he said.