[VIDEOS] 'Get your knee off our necks' : Reverend Al Sharpton's epic speech at the Floyd funeral

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"George Floyd's story has been the story of black folks"<br><br>Reverend Al Sharpton delivers fiery eulogy addressing racial pain telling mourners at memorial service "it's time for us to stand up in George's name and say 'get your knee off our necks'"<a href="https://t.co/oSR3OdajSi">https://t.co/oSR3OdajSi</a> <a href="https://t.co/RC7J7IKDKA">pic.twitter.com/RC7J7IKDKA</a></p>— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1268628514359705602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


'Get your knee off our necks'
Reverend Al Sharpton is speaking now.

He reflects on the events leading to the memorial service today, noting that he gave the eulogy at Eric Garner's funeral, who died in a police chokehold in New York.

He said he went to the place where George Floyd died when he arrived in Minneapolis.

"When I stood at that spot, the reason it got to me because George Floyd's story has been the story of black folks. Ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed of being is you kept your knee on our neck," he says as the crowd applauds.

"It's time for us to stand up in George's name and say get your knee off our necks."

"The reason why we're marching all over the world is we were like George. We couldn't breathe - not because there was something wrong with our lungs, but because you wouldn't take your knee off our neck.

"We don't want no favours. Just get up off of us, and we can do and be whatever we can be."

 

[Nadeemp]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"George Floyd's story has been the story of black folks"<br><br>Reverend Al Sharpton delivers fiery eulogy addressing racial pain telling mourners at memorial service "it's time for us to stand up in George's name and say 'get your knee off our necks'"<a href="https://t.co/oSR3OdajSi">https://t.co/oSR3OdajSi</a> <a href="https://t.co/RC7J7IKDKA">pic.twitter.com/RC7J7IKDKA</a></p>— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1268628514359705602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


'Get your knee off our necks'
Reverend Al Sharpton is speaking now.

He reflects on the events leading to the memorial service today, noting that he gave the eulogy at Eric Garner's funeral, who died in a police chokehold in New York.

He said he went to the place where George Floyd died when he arrived in Minneapolis.

"When I stood at that spot, the reason it got to me because George Floyd's story has been the story of black folks. Ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed of being is you kept your knee on our neck," he says as the crowd applauds.

"It's time for us to stand up in George's name and say get your knee off our necks."

"The reason why we're marching all over the world is we were like George. We couldn't breathe - not because there was something wrong with our lungs, but because you wouldn't take your knee off our neck.

"We don't want no favours. Just get up off of us, and we can do and be whatever we can be."

He is. Fraud of the highest order. An opportunist . Worst thing to happen to black people

 

[MenInG]

A lawyer for George Floyd has told a memorial service that a "pandemic of racism" led to his death.

Those gathered at Thursday's tribute stood in silence for eight minutes, 46 seconds, the amount of time Floyd was alleged to be on the ground under the control of police in Minneapolis.

Hundreds attended the service, which also heard a eulogy from civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton.

It was time to stand up and say "get your knee off our necks", he said.

Mr Floyd's killing, which was captured on video, has caused outrage and sparked a wave of protests in cities across the US.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, three police officers charged with aiding and abetting Mr Floyd's murder made their first appearance in court. Bail was set at $1m (£800,000) but would be lowered to $750,000 if they handed in any guns they owned and met other conditions, the judge said.

Derek Chauvin, the officer who continued to kneel on Mr Floyd's neck as he pleaded that he could not breathe, has been charged with second-degree murder and is due to appear in court on Monday.

The vast majority of demonstrations over the past eight days have been peaceful, but some have descended into violence and rioting, with curfews imposed in a number of cities.

What happened at the memorial?
Addressing Thursday's memorial service, lawyer Benjamin Crump said it was "not the coronavirus pandemic that killed George Floyd".

"It was that other pandemic," he said. "The pandemic of racism and discrimination."

Members of Mr Floyd's family, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were among several hundred people at the service at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis.

Philonise Floyd, one of Mr Floyd's brothers, described how the family had been poor when he and Mr Floyd were young and had washed their clothes in the sink and dried them in the oven.

"It's crazy man, all these people came to see my brother, it's amazing he touched so many hearts," he said.

Reverend Al Sharpton meanwhile demanded accountability.

"We won't stop," he said, referring to protests that have taken place in every US state. "We're going to keep going until we change the whole system of justice."

In an emotional eulogy, he said Mr Floyd's story had echoed that of black people in America.

"What happened to Floyd happens every day 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," he said.

Further tributes will be held at Mr Floyd's birthplace of North Carolina on Saturday, and in his hometown of Houston on Monday.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52928304

 

[MenInG]

Al Sharpton promises to return for trial of officers involved in Floyd death

The Reverend Al Sharpton told mourners at the funeral for George Floyd that he and other supporters of the slain Minneapolis man will return to the city where he died when those responsible face judgment in court.

"We will be back in Minneapolis, when the trial starts," Sharpton said, "because you have the police union on one side, but the righteous is gonna be on the other side of that court."

Delivering the main eulogy at the funeral, the New York civil rights activist called Floyd's death more than a tragedy. It was, he said, a crime.

"Until these people pay for what they did, we will be there with them because lives like George Floyd will not matter until somebody pays the cost for taking their lives."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Eulogizing George Floyd’s in Houston, TX. At the final service <a href="https://t.co/qttkyh5848">https://t.co/qttkyh5848</a></p>— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRevAl/status/1270436633192607747?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

The sister of George Floyd, whose death in police custody sparked months of racial turmoil across the US, has urged civil rights protesters to "be his legacy" as thousands gathered for a rally in Washington DC.

"My brother cannot be a voice today," said Bridgett Floyd. "We have to be that voice, we have to be the change".

Ms Floyd was one of several relatives of black Americans harmed or killed by police to address the event commemorating a historic 1963 civil rights march.

Speakers demanded racial justice and urged people to vote.

Jacob Blake Sr, whose son was shot in Wisconsin on Sunday, told the rally they were holding court on racism in America - and the verdict was "guilty, guilty, guilty!".

What is the 2020 March on Washington?

Thousands of people gathered in Washington DC for the event that commemorated the 1963 civil rights March on Washington and in protest at police violence.

Called the Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks - a reference to the death of George Floyd, who died in May after a policeman knelt on his neck for several minutes - it follows renewed protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

The event brought together generations of activists to call for police reform and to urge Americans to vote in November's general election. It was organised by civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III - the eldest son of Mr King Jr.

The families of black Americans shot or killed by police spoke at the same site where Martin Luther King Jr delivered his I Have a Dream speech.

The 1963 March on Washington was a seismic event in US history, credited with spurring the passage of the Civil Rights Act outlawing segregation the following year.

Some 250,000 supporters packed the 1.9 miles (3 km) strip from Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument, making it one of the largest political gatherings the country had ever seen.

Rev Sharpton announced the 2020 march - which falls on the 57th anniversary of the 1963 event - at Mr Floyd's memorial service in June.

His organisation, the National Action Network, worked with Mr King III to convene the rally.

"The nation has never seen such a mighty movement, a modern day incarnation of what my father called the coalition of conscience," said Mr King III.

"And if we move forward with purpose and passion, we will complete the work so boldly began in the 1960s."

The event comes in the wake of at times violent protests over Mr Blake's shooting that have left two dead in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Mr Blake was shot and injured by police.

Since Mr Floyd's death in May, marches in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and against racism and police brutality have swept the US and the globe.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53954111

 

[MenInG]

A Los Angeles police officer is being investigated after briefly pressing his knee on the neck of an NBA player, according to a report.

Police were called to the home of New Orleans Pelicans centre Jaxson Hayes in the early hours of 28 July after his girlfriend's cousin called 911.

The cousin said Hayes' girlfriend had been sending text messages saying he had become loud and violent and that she was scared.

Hayes, 21, had argued and struggled against the officers after they said he could not return to his home, and they tried to restrain him.

He was eventually arrested for resisting arrest, after he was treated in hospital for minor injuries.

A police officer's elbow was also injured when Hayes pushed him into a wall.

The LAPD's Force Investigation Division is looking into the case "due to the possibility of force being applied to Hayes' neck during the use of force".

Los Angeles police have handed the case to prosecutors, who have not yet decided whether to file charges.

Police-worn body camera footage released on Friday showed echoes of George Floyd, a black man who died after police officer Derek Chauvin held a knee to his neck for more than nine minutes in Minnesota.

But there were some important differences - the police officer in Los Angeles pressed his knee on Hayes' neck for a few seconds and immediately pulled away after a colleague told him to "get your knee up".

Like Mr Floyd, Hayes was gasping: "I can't breathe", but he was able to recover after the second officer stepped in, unlike Chauvin's three colleagues in the case of Mr Floyd.

They were charged with aiding and abetting Chauvin with murder and manslaughter because they did not try to stop him.

Also, while Mr Floyd had been pinned face-down, Hayes was on his back.

The moment when the officer's knee was on Hayes' neck is difficult to see in the footage but The Associated Press included it in its report.

Hayes had started by calmly answering officers' questions while standing in his driveway with his cousin nearby.

Officers said they wanted to speak to his girlfriend and that he and his cousin should wait outside.

Hayes asked why he could not go inside and also whether the officers had a warrant to go in.

The officers said they did not need one - which could be true under California law under certain circumstances.

Hayes tried to go inside but two officers stopped him, one of them pushing him while his cousin held him back.

There was a scuffle and Hayes shoved an officer into a wall while another pulled out a Taser.

The officer warned the basketballer that he would be tasered if he did not stop resisting and it was then that the officer pressed his hand and then his knee to Hayes' neck.

The Taser was fired close to Hayes' chest and then close to his buttocks and back of his legs as the officer shouted: "stop resisting".

Hayes was eventually handcuffed, with blood on his arm and shirt.

https://news.sky.com/story/la-polic...ssing-knee-to-the-neck-of-nba-player-12392749

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Time for Racism to end already.

Imagine you work your socks of and finally get to the NBA... yet a police officer still "knees" you...

Like Mr Floyd, Hayes was gasping: "I can't breathe", but he was able to recover after the second officer stepped in, unlike Chauvin's three colleagues in the case of Mr Floyd.

Kudos to this 2nd officer for doing the right thing!

Spoiler

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Video of the Jaxson Hayes' arrest: