After the brutal killing of George Floyd, a nationwide protest is continued in the memory of an innocent and unarmed African American. On June 9, family members of Floyd and the nation paid respect to George P. Floyd. The funeral was conducted at his hometown, Houston. The killing of Floyd ignited the national movement called “Black Lives Matter.” Hundreds of guests including lawmakers, athletes, and actors gathered at the Fountain of Praise Church. George Floyd was fondly remembered on Tuesday as “Big Floyd”. More than 500 mourners wore masks. Dozens of Floyd’s family members dressed in white and took part in the four-hour service. Grammy-winning singer Ne-Yo gave tribute to George Floyd by singing “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.'' The mourners included actors Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum, J.J. Watt of the NFL’s Houston Texans, rapper Trae Tha Truth, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo and Sylvester Turner(62nd Mayor of Houston). The past two weeks were horrific and catastrophic for the US but it also exposed the country to the ugly truth that racism still exists in 2020 America. The Mayor of Houston boldly gave an intrepid speech against systemic racism by saying, “Right now the city attorney is drafting an executive order, an order I will sign when I get back to City Hall. It says in this city, we will ban chokeholds and strangleholds. In this city, we will require de-escalation. In this city, you have to give a warning before you shoot. In this city, you must intervene,” said the Mayor. The crowd burst into both tears and applause. The dreadful days across the nation were due to violent protests, and looters who extinguished the dreams of small businesses by burning or looting their stores. The only thing that can be given is our love and respect which will endanger these strange behaviors such as racism. Racism has constantly been an intervening obstacle for our nation’s success in peace and cooperation among different races.
Article by: Sourav Jadhav and Chirag Agarwal, Ca Times
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