NEW YORK (Reuters) – At a New York City memorial for George Floyd on Thursday, Corte Ellis held a sign he had made using a piece of cardboard from a broken-down box. The 10-year-old had written some of Floyd’s final words: “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.”
Tawana Boatwright with her boyfriend Christopher and her daughters Skylar, 11, and Leia, 7, attend a memorial in Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza Park for George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody, in New York, U.S. June 4, 2020. REUTERS/Michelle Nichols
Corte was among many children at the vigil for Floyd, the black man whose death while in the custody of a white police officer in Minneapolis set off a wave of nationwide protests and ignited a debate about race and justice.
“I’m here to protest for George Floyd because he didn’t deserve to die,” said Corte, who was accompanied by his stepfather, Timothy Walker, and almost-2-year-old brother, Cody.
Seeing the crowd stream into Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn, Corte said, “It’s good because it tells me how many people are willing to go so far to get rights.”
Walker,