Hi everyone, it’s Sussan Mourad here with Clevver News and on Thursday, thousands of
mourners, including many celebrities, gathered at a Minneapolis chapel to remember George
Floyd.
This was just one of many services being held in George Floyd’s honor and many people
tuned in live to watch the event from home.
This event in particular, was open only to invited guests and family members, but thousands
of people gathered outside the chapel and across the country to show their support for
George Floyd and his family.
Some celebs in attendance included Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, T.I., Ludacris, Tyrese
Gibson, Marsai Martin, along with many others including politicians.
The service came a day after it was announced that all four officers involved in George
Floyd’s death would be arrested facing charges varying from second-degree murder to aiding
and abetting second-degree murder.
The entire ceremony was extremely moving, emotional and respectful.
There was a beautiful performance of Amazing Grace, speeches from some of George’s family
members like his brother, and the president of Minnesota’s North Central University
announced the school would establish a George Floyd Memorial Scholarship after receiving
an unsolicited $53,000.
Terrence Floyd, George’s brother, said quote, “I want to thank God.
I was mad.
I was upset.
But I want to thank God.
It wasn’t his fault.
It was his purpose.
It was his will.
It took me a few things to help me come to that.”
Reverend Al Sharpton gave a powerful eulogy for George Floyd.
“George Floyd "did not die of common health conditions.
He died of a common American criminal justice malfunction.”
A photo-journalist who attended the service shared this video writing quote, “Rev. Sharpton
asked attendees to observe an 8 min and 46 second long moment of silence — the time
that Officer Derek Chauvin had his knee pressed into George Floyd’s neck.
Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, and actress Tiffany Haddish joined him on stage.
#GeorgeFloydMemorial”
Reverend Sharpton continued on and said quote, “What happened to Floyd happens everyday
in this country in education, in health services, and in every area of American life.
It’s time for us to stand up in George's name and say get your knee off our necks.”
Crowds gathered both outside the memorial and around the country in George’s honor.
In Minneapolis, where the ceremony was taking place, the crowd took a knee.
In New York City, protestors marched across the Brooklyn Bridge.
And around the country local artists painted murals of George.
While the entire ceremony and day was a special tribute for George and his family, many fans
took to Twitter to wonder why celebs were in attendance and got shout outs at the funeral
service.
One person wrote, quote, “I’m confused.
Why are these celebrities getting a shout out at George Floyd’s memorial service?
I don’t care or need to know that Tiffany Haddish & Tyrese are in the building.
#GeorgeFloydMemorial”
Another pointed out that the Tiffany Haddish moment only came about because she was originally
skipped over.
They wrote quote, “None of the celebrities should’ve been acknowledged because it wasn’t
about them.
But Al Sharpton called out a bunch of men and skipped Tiffany Haddish.
Why are y’all dragging her and not Al for mentioning any of them?
Please respect black women”
But others acknowledged that trying to cancel people during a time like this is only creating
more problems like this person who said quote, “The way yall attack BLACK WOMEN without
getting the FACTS is showing in this Tiffany Haddish situation.
Yall black asses didn’t even take the time out your day to watch the memorial but ready
to tweet hateful s**t about a black woman.”
And at the end of the day, the event was to honor the life of George Floyd, so that’s
what really matters.
Here at Clevver, we all stand with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and
all of the other black people who have tragically lost their lives due to the color of their
skin and police brutality.
We’ve linked some resources and places to donate down in the description below and we
will continue to cover these stories and have these conversations because this is only just
the beginning.
And please take a moment and click right over here to watch this video to know why this
issue is so important to us here at Clevver.
And feel free to share some love for George Floyd and his family down in the comments
below.
I’m your host, Sussan Mourad, bye guys!