'CLEAN OUT THE WHITE HOUSE'
Al Sharpton calls Donald Trump ‘wicked’ during emotional George Floyd eulogy at Houston funeral
MOURNERS wept at George Floyd's funeral in Texas on Tuesday, as Joe Biden paid tribute via video as Revs Al Sharpton and William Lawson said the US needs to "clean out the White House."
The funeral for , a 46-year-old black man, began at 11am local time at The Fountain of Praise church in Houston, where a six-hour public viewing was held on Monday for a final memorial.
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Mourners — friends, family, and politicians, along with actors Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, and NFL star JJ Watt — tearfully viewed Floyd's golden casket to pay their final respects.
Civil rights activist Al Sharpton eulogized Floyd, and said he — along with other black people killed by the police, including Eric Garner — will receive justice.
"Get your rest now," he said of Floyd. "We are going to fight on."
He used the stage to criticized President Donald Trump criticizing President Trump, telling mourners he used the St John’s Church outside the White House as a “prop” for his photo-op.
“Wickedness in high places,” Sharpton said of Trump.
Rev William Lawson said, to a big round of applause: “Obviously the first thing we have to do is clean out the White House."
"That has to come closer to us and Washington, our states, and counties, and cities have to have good leadership."
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Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden spoke to the mourners in a video, telling the crowd: "Jill and I know the deep hole in your hearts when you bury a piece of your soul deep in this earth."
"We know you will never feel the same again. The numbness you feel now will turn, day after day, season after season into purpose."
Acknowledging that the eyes of the world are on Floyd's family, Biden said: "Unlike most you must grieve in public. It’s a burden. A burden that is now your purpose to change the world for the better."
"When there is justice for George Floyd we will truly be on our way to racial justice in America," he continued.
Addressing George's children and grandchildren, Biden said: "I know you miss your daddy and your granddad. Gianna, as I said to you when I saw you yesterday, you're so brave."
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"Daddy's looking down and he's so proud of you. I know you miss that bear hug that only he can give."
Referring to a viral video in which Gianna declared, "Daddy changed the world," Biden said: "As you said Gianna, your daddy will have changed the world."
The former vice president lamented the “question too many black children have had to ask for generations: Why?"
"Why in this nation do too many black Americans wake up knowing they could lose their life in the course of just living their life?" he said.
Brooke Williams, Floyd's niece, moved the crowd with her words, even calling out Trump.
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"That officer showed no remorse for watching my uncle’s soul leave his body," she said.
Speaking to former officer Derek Chauvin, charged with Floyd's death, she said:
"He begged and pleaded just for you to get up. But you just pushed harder."
"Why must this system be corrupt and broken? These laws need to be changed. No more hate crimes please."
Calling out President Trump directly, the crowd erupted in applause when she said:
"Somebody said 'Make America Great Again,' but when has America ever been great?"
"Those four officers were literally on him for nine minutes and none of them showed they have a heart or soul."
"This is not just a murder, but a hate crime."
She remembered Floyd saying to her, "Baby girl, you’re going to go so far with that smile and brain of yours."
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Civil rights activist Al Sharpton eulogized Floyd, and said he -- along with other black people killed by the police, including Eric Garner -- will receive justice.
"Get your rest now," he said of Floyd. "We are going to fight on."
It was announced during the service that June 9 in Houston will become an annual day to remember George.
An emotional montage of photos of Floyd was displayed, showing him in happy times with family and friends, as well as photos of protests around the world following his death.
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After his funeral, Floyd will be laid to rest next to his mother at Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland.
A horse-drawn carriage will transport Floyd's casket to the cemetery, and the will be escorting the body.
Pearland officials said the public is welcome to pay their respects along the route, including on public sidewalks.
Houston is Floyd's hometown, living there before moving in , where he died on May 25.
Floyd was arrested for .
While in custody, white former cop pushed his knee into the back of Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes — and Floyd repeatedly said he couldn't breathe.
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Floyd died at the scene, according to an autopsy commissioned by Floyd’s family, and doctors .
Chauvin was with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, both of which still stand, but he was later also charged with .
On Monday, Chauvin appeared via video chat in court for the first time, where a judge .
Fountain of Praise Pastor Remus Wright said of the Floyd family: "They really have not had a chance to really grieve because this case is so worldwide."
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"So we are not only concerned about them today but also what will they need next month and the month after that."
On Monday, .
Guests lined around the building while wearing masks and socially distancing themselves from one another in 90-degree southern temperatures.
Last week at Floyd's memorial service in Minneapolis, civil rights activist Al Sharpton eulogized Floyd, and gave a fiery call for change demanding black people must demand: "Get your knee off our necks!"
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He also led the congregation in eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence — the length of time Chauvin's knee was on Floyd's neck.
"I want us to not sit here and act like we have a funeral on the schedule," Sharpton said.
"George Floyd should not be among the deceased. He did not die of common health conditions — he died of a common American criminal justice malfunction."
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Sharpton said Floyd’s final journey was designed with intention: 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 added.
Since his death, Floyd has become a symbol of police reform and social justice as hundreds of thousands of people across the US and world continue to protest police brutality and racism.
Michelle Obama says George Floyd died as ‘direct result of decades of unaddressed prejudice’
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