Several hundred people attended a ceremony Thursday, June 4, in Minneapolis (Minnesota) in tribute to George Floyd, the 46-year-old black man whose death, during his arrest by police on May 25, triggered off vast demonstrations interspersed with violence and stirred up the debate on racial issues in the United States and beyond.
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“You changed the world George”
Family, religious and political leaders, and celebrities gathered at North Central Christian University in Minneapolis to honor his memory. The ceremony, in the presence of black personalities such as rapper TI or comic Kevin Hart, began with a moving interpretation of Amazing Grace after the white mayor of Minneapolis knelt in tears in front of the coffin.
It was also marked by a period of silence of 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the time during which the white cop Derek Chauvin remained kneeling on the neck of George Floyd despite his pleas. Speaking, the brother of the deceased, Philonise Floyd, denounced to the applause “The pandemic of racism and discrimination” who won.
“You changed the world George” : The American civil rights leader, Al Sharpton, delivered a moving eulogy during the ceremony, with political overtones imbued with sadness but also hope for a better world, with the promise of ” continue the fight “. Seeing in the knee that crushed George Floyd’s neck the symbol of the oppression of African Americans in America, he said:
“George Floyd shouldn’t be among the dead. He did not die from a common health problem. He died of a common dysfunction of the American justice system. “
Calling the police to account, the Reverend said:
“What happened to Floyd is happening every day in this country, in education, health care, and in all aspects of American life. It’s time for us to stand up in homage to George and say “Take your knees off our necks”. »
To Donald Trump, who evacuated manu militari from the vicinity of the White House Monday evening to pose in front of a church, Bible in hand, the 65-year-old Baptist pastor advised to“Open the bible”. “I’ve been preaching from a young age, and I’ve never seen anyone hold a bible like that, but let’s move on”, he said.
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“There is a knee on the neck of black America”
At the same time, at Minneapolis, in front of the improvised mausoleum erected at the place where George Floyd was killed, the messages of the Reverend were perfectly understood by the demonstrators. “There’s a knee on the neck of black AmericaKayla Peterson, a human resources manager from the city’s suburbs, told Agence France-Presse. We have never been truly free. “
Protests continued across the country. On the tenth day of the mobilization, the situation seemed to have calmed down, after more than a week of excesses – the police have made a total of nearly 10,000 arrests in the country in recent days, according to an estimate taken up by the American media . Night curfews, decreed in recent days by several major American cities in an attempt to contain the violence, had been lifted in Los Angeles and Washington. In these two cities, thousands of demonstrators of all origins were demonstrating peacefully.
A Washington, protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial where, on August 28, 1963, Dr Martin Luther King gave the historic speech « I have a dream » (” I am dreaming “). The presence of law enforcement was much smaller than it had been near the White House during the protests of the previous nights. The participants dispersed before it got dark, as heavy rain began to fall.
A The Angels, a crowd of hundreds of people fell silent and knelt in front of the town hall, in the district of Downtown, a gesture which became the symbol of the protest born after the death of George Floyd.
A New York, the mayor, Bill de Blasio, was booed by demonstrators who accuse him of tolerating increasingly muscular police interventions. During the ceremony in the Brooklyn district – organized in conjunction with a tribute to Minneapolis – the mayor had great difficulty in making his speech heard: the crowd of several thousand people shouted « De Blasio Go Home ! » (De Blasio, go home) or « Vote them out ! » (Drive them out of power!). He left soon after.
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The bond of the former police officers fixed between 750,000 and 1 million dollars each
The demonstrators had obtained a first Wednesday “Victory” on the judicial level. As they claimed, the prosecutor investigating the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis reclassified the facts as intentional homicide, charging Derek Chauvin with “Unpremeditated murder” – one count liable to 40 years of imprisonment – and complicity the three other agents present. On Thursday, the latter appeared in court to have their bail fixed: between $ 750,000 and $ 1 million each.
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Twitter disables Trump video
Twitter disabled a video in tribute to George Floyd on Thursday published on the campaign account of US President Donald Trump, citing a copyright complaint.
In the video, the voice of the US president is broadcast over a montage of photos and videos of the protests and violence that followed Floyd’s death. “We are reacting to a copyright complaint that has been sent to us by one of the rights holders or by one of its representatives”, explained a representative of Twitter.
« Twitter et Jack [Dorsey, cofondateur de Twitter] censor this inspiring and unifying message ”, reacted, on the same platform, the campaign team of Donald Trump.
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Complaint against Trump after the dispersal of protesters outside the White House
A complaint has been filed against Donald Trump after the violent dispersal of protesters on Monday to allow the president to pose, a Bible in hand, in front of a church near the White House, the powerful civil rights organization ACLU announced Thursday . US justice and defense ministers and other senior officials are also targeted by this complaint, filed by the ACLU and other civil rights organizations on behalf of the Washington branch of the Black Lives movement. Matter and other protesters.
“What happened to our members on Monday evening in the nation’s capital was an affront against all of our rights”Black Lives Matter DC’s April Goggans said in the ACLU statement. “We will not be silenced by tear gas and rubber bullets. Now is the time to be heard. “
Our selection of articles on the death of George Floyd
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