Hundreds of mourners lined up outside a church in George Floyd’s native Houston for a final public viewing Monday.
The CBC’s Steven D’Souza reports from outside the church in Houston, where hundreds of people are passing by the casket of George Floyd, who died May 25 after a police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes. 4:02
Hundreds of mourners lined up outside a church in George Floyd’s native Houston for a final public viewing Monday as his death two weeks ago at the hands of police continued spurring protesters, leaders and cities around the world into action over demands to address racial injustice and police brutality.
As the doors opened at the Fountain of Praise church in Houston, the city where Floyd spent most of his life, Floyd was lying in an open gold-coloured casket, dressed in a brown suit. Organizers said the six-hour public viewing is expected to draw thousands of mourners.
The people in line, many wearing masks and T-shirts with the words “I Can’t Breathe,” stood two metres apart as they paused briefly to view the casket. Some made the sign of the cross as they passed by. On the stage behind the casket were two identical murals of Floyd wearing a black cap that read “Houston” and angel wings drawn behind him.
“With this happening to him, it’s going to make a difference in the world,” said Pam Robinson, who grew up with Floyd in Houston and handed out bottled water to mourners waiting outside in the searing Texas heat. One man in the line, which had no shade, collapsed as temperatures spiked above 32 C and was taken by stretcher to a cooling station set up in front of the church.
Comill Adams said she drove more than seven hours from Oklahoma City with her family, including two children ages eight and 10. They wore matching black T-shirts with “I Can’t Breathe” on the back — shirts she made up specifically for the memorial.
“We had been watching the protests on TV. We’ve been at home feeling outraged. At times it brought us to tears,” Adams said. “The fact this one is causing change, we had to come be a part of.”
Floyd died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes. His death, which a bystander recorded, has inspired international protests and drawn new attention to the treatment of Black Americans by police and the U.S. criminal justice system.
As the service began, the impact of his death continued to resonate both at home and abroad.
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