'Get your knee off our necks,' activist Sharpton tells George Floyd memorial

By Brendan O'Brien

 

People attend a memorial service for George Floyd following his death in Minneapolis police custody, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., June 4, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

 

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Prominent civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton told mourners on Thursday that George Floyd's fatal encounter with police and the nationwide protests his death ignited marked a reckoning for America over race and justice, demanding, "Get your knee off our necks."

 

Delivering the eulogy at a memorial service inside a university chapel in Minneapolis, Sharpton said Floyd's fate - dying at the hands of police, pinned to the ground under the knee of a white officer - symbolized a universal experience of African Americans.

 

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

 

Sharpton led mourners in eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence, the amount of time Floyd lay on a Minneapolis street with a knee pressed into his neck.

 

In addition to hundreds who gathered inside the North Central University chapel, a crowd of hundreds more clustered outside under trees and in window sills, listening to the service broadcast over loudspeakers.

 

One was Zsa-Vona Williams, 36, who knew Floyd from his days working at the homeless shelter where she once lived, recalling him as a caring, friendly soul.

 

"He gave to and fed a lot of people. He was a gentle, peaceful person," Williams said, adding that in death, "He has changed the world."

 

The prayer service, which drew comic actors Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish as well as U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, coincided with a separate memorial tribute to Floyd in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, a major flashpoint of protests in recent days.

 

The day of remembrance capped nine straight nights of raucous but largely peaceful street demonstrations in Floyd's name across the country - punctuated by sporadic arson, looting and clashes between protesters and police.

 

The outpouring of rage appeared to ebb on Wednesday night after prosecutors in Minneapolis elevated murder charges against one police officer jailed last week in Floyd's May 25 death and arrested three others accused of aiding and abetting the first.

 

EX-COPS IN COURT

On Thursday, the three newly arrested officers - Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao - made their first appearance in court and were ordered to remain held on $750,000 bond each.

 

Their principal co-defendant, Derek Chauvin, 44, is slated to appear for his bond hearing on Monday. Chauvin is the officer seen in widely circulated video footage kneeling on Floyd's neck as Floyd gasped for air and repeatedly groaned, "I can't breathe," before passing out.

 

The four former officers, all dismissed from the Minneapolis police department the day after their deadly confrontation with Floyd, each faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges against them.

 

Floyd, a Houston native who had worked security for various nightclubs, was unarmed when taken into custody outside a corner market where an employee had reported to police that a man matching his description tried to pay for cigarettes with a counterfeit bill.

 

His brother, Philonise Floyd, recounted to mourners in Minneapolis that he and his siblings grew up so poor they washed their socks and underwear 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,” said Philonise Floyd, wearing a dark suit adorned with photo of his brother.

 

A second brother, Terrence Floyd, joined an outdoor memorial in a Brooklyn park, where many in the crowd knelt in the grass in the afternoon sunshine in a symbol of protest and chanted, "No justice, no peace."

 

He urged the crowd to continue to seek justice but to avoid violence, saying, "My brother wasn't about that."

 

"EXTREMIST AGITATORS"

U.S. Attorney General William Barr said on Thursday evidence had surfaced of foreign interests and "extremist agitators" affiliated with left-wing movements infiltrating the protests to foment unrest, though he offered no details.

 

Sharpton acknowledged that some demonstrations had devolved into incidents of lawlessness, which detractors had seized on to avoid a larger conversation about systemic racial inequality.

 

"None of us condone it - looting and violence," Sharpton said. "But there is a difference between those calling for peace and those calling for quiet. Some y'all don't want peace, you just want quiet. You just want us to suffer in silence."

 

Services for Floyd are expected to stretch across six days and three states, including memorials in North Carolina and Houston. A funeral was planned for Tuesday.

 

In another racially charged case that has gained national attention, a court heard on Thursday that one of three white men charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man jogging in Georgia had uttered a racial slur against the victim, Ahmaud Arbery, just after he was slain.

 

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien, Michelle Nichols, Nathan Layne, Peter Szekely and Andrew Hay; Writing by Alistair Bell and Steve Gorman; Editing by Howard Goller and Cynthia Osterman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-06-05

 

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If the 4 police officers are not convicted i think the protests so far will be nothing compared to what could be coming and the whole US could be in big trouble with never ending protests and riots .

11 minutes ago, webfact said:

Prominent civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton told mourners on Thursday that George Floyd's fatal encounter with police and the nationwide protests his death ignited marked a reckoning for America over race and justice, demanding, "Get your knee off our necks."

Prominent civil rights stirrer activist the Rev. Al Sharpton never lets an opportunity go by.

7 minutes ago, keith101 said:

If the 4 police officers are not convicted i think the protests so far will be nothing compared to what could be coming and the whole US could be in big trouble with never ending protests and riots .

There've been similar before and will be again. This too will pass and fade away ( IMO ). Who now thinks about the LA riots or the looting in New York after the power cut?

Edited June 5, 20206 yr by thaibeachlovers

This man is one of the most divisive odious scumbags in American history

How dare he politicise a funeral, utter filth

 

Al Sharpton raked in $1,046,948 from his own charity last year, according to National Action Network's latest tax filings obtained by The Post. Sharpton got a $324,000 salary - 32% higher than his 2017 pay — in addition to a $159,596 bonus and $563,352 in “other compensation".

2 minutes ago, Canuck1966 said:

This man is one of the most divisive odious scumbags in American history

How dare he politicise a funeral, utter filth

 

Al Sharpton raked in $1,046,948 from his own charity last year, according to National Action Network's latest tax filings obtained by The Post. Sharpton got a $324,000 salary - 32% higher than his 2017 pay — in addition to a $159,596 bonus and $563,352 in “other compensation".

It's what he does.

A moving memorial service held for the serial armed robber that targeted women in their own homes.

RIP and good riddance George Floyd.

We have to (own) some of that knee on the neck stuff that beeing said they have to own some of the (stuff) as we’ll bottom line the man was cuffed no threat no excuses 

4 minutes ago, Tug said:

We have to (own) some of that knee on the neck stuff that beeing said they have to own some of the (stuff) as we’ll bottom line the man was cuffed no threat no excuses 

Agree, the action of the officers was reprehensible, and they need to be punished in accordance with the law.

 

However the ridiculous levels of fake mourning makes it out as if GF was some type of paragon of virtue. I think most people are just scared to voice different opinion for fear of being called racist. I heard Kareem Abdul Jabbar on CNN this morning saying he 'wept' when he saw the video... I mean really....

 

There are 10's if not 100's of people murdered on the streets of the US daily, often Black on Black gang related crime. Where are the mass protests about that? where is Al Shap criticizing other black people for the daily slaughter in neighborhoods all over the US?

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

It's what he does.

Agree .... In a capitalistic system - Based on supply and demand and individual wealth ... Why not ? Does he defend a 'just cause' is the real question?

 

If people think he does and support him ... and the pay and bonuses (or whatever)  are public records. Then its all fair and above board. 

 

Just like every president and politician in the western world declare income and tax return to show openest and transparency.   

1 minute ago, rvaviator said:

Agree .... In a capitalistic system - Based on supply and demand and individual wealth ... Why not ? Does he defend a 'just cause' is the real question?

 

If people think he does and support him ... and the pay and bonuses (or whatever)  are public records. Then its all fair and above board. 

 

Just like every president and politician in the western world declare income and tax return to show openest and transparency.   

My comment was about him being a stirrer. I have no knowledge of his financial doings and not interested in finding out. I've seen nothing of him to respect.

12 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

My comment was about him being a stirrer. I have no knowledge of his financial doings and not interested in finding out. I've seen nothing of him to respect.

Well he’s Black and he’s voicing his opinions.

 

So yes, I get your point, but it’s perhaps not the point you thought you were making.

Two white police officers killed the other day while on duty I must add, whats happening to them? 

2 hours ago, Canuck1966 said:

This man is one of the most divisive odious scumbags in American history

How dare he politicise a funeral, utter filth

 

 

Cant argue with the that..............he borders on inciting racial hatred everytime he opens his mouth

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Prominent civil rights stirrer activist the Rev. Al Sharpton never lets an opportunity go by.

Agreed. He pops up like clockwork & yet strangely I have never heard anything from his direction for black-on-black (or white) crime in his own backyard, or the violent year-long yellow jacket protests in France or the genocide being committed against the ethnic minority white farmers in SA.

 

The man is a hypocrite, as indeed are MSM who are equally mute on the same sliding scale.

3 hours ago, keith101 said:

If the 4 police officers are not convicted i think the protests so far will be nothing compared to what could be coming and the whole US could be in big trouble with never ending protests and riots .

 

So you believe they can't possible get a fair trial?

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

Two white police officers killed the other day while on duty I must add, whats happening to them? 

 

Also a black police captain shot and killed. 

 

Where's the media frenzy about that?

What would the guy be saying if it were a black cops knee.....They do have black cops don't they....?

Nothing would be said, just pass the plate round...........???? 

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

Two white police officers killed the other day while on duty I must add, whats happening to them? 

Im sure if they catch the people they will be charged. Being a police officer carries that risk. Being a citizen held by police should not carry that risk. They have a duty of care to those detained.

16 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Also a black police captain shot and killed. 

 

Where's the media frenzy about that?

Media frenzy? I think you will find those protesting are general public, not media.

2 minutes ago, Sujo said:

Media frenzy? I think you will find those protesting are general public, not media.

Eeeeer, general public being wound up by the media, it's what they do....????

You'd think the guy was a saint. 

 

"One was Zsa-Vona Williams, 36, who knew Floyd from his days working at the homeless shelter where she once lived, recalling him as a caring, friendly soul.

"He gave to and fed a lot of people. He was a gentle, peaceful person," Williams said, adding that in death, "He has changed the world."

 

When in fact:

 

Floyd had landed five years behind bars in 2009 for an assault and robbery two years earlier, and before that, had been convicted of charges ranging from theft with a firearm to drugs, the Daily Mail reported

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Prominent civil rights stirrer activist the Rev. Al Sharpton never lets an opportunity go by.

He was a big supporter of Jussie Smollet and fake rape claiments in the past, now he's right behind a criminal druggie who got convicted for sticking a gun in a black womans pregnant gut and was high on meth etc committing another crime- leading him to being illegally killed by an over zealous cop. Al the bandwagon jumper, he should stick up for some decent folks once in a while.

4 hours ago, twocatsmac said:

A moving memorial service held for the serial armed robber that targeted women in their own homes.

RIP and good riddance George Floyd.

There was Meth and Fentnal in his system. Definitely not Boy Scout material but ultimately didn't need a knee across the neck. Why they didn't phase him is a good question. 

During the Democrat primaries last summer, it was nauseating to see ALL the hopefuls wending their way to Al Sharpton's lair in NY and pledging that if they became president they would make "reparations" an item high up on their early things to do.

 

Those candidates had no shame whatsoever as they solemnly intoned into the microphone that they would get the reparations show on the road. 

 

If this humiliating show had been performed today, the puppies would no doubt swear their promises while "taking the knee."

Edited June 5, 20206 yr by blazes

Tawana Bradley.  Never forget Al Sharpton’s role in this.  But many have.  Sharpton is now seen as a Civil Rights Leader, former presidential candidate and renowned talk show host on MSNBC.  Reality is stranger than fiction.  

1 hour ago, giddyup said:

You'd think the guy was a saint. 

 

"One was Zsa-Vona Williams, 36, who knew Floyd from his days working at the homeless shelter where she once lived, recalling him as a caring, friendly soul.

"He gave to and fed a lot of people. He was a gentle, peaceful person," Williams said, adding that in death, "He has changed the world."

 

When in fact:

 

Floyd had landed five years behind bars in 2009 for an assault and robbery two years earlier, and before that, had been convicted of charges ranging from theft with a firearm to drugs, the Daily Mail reported

And since his release at least 6 years ago?

 

Anything there?

 

Or maybe he had turned his life round eh...

A post with a video from an unapproved YouTube source and the replies have been removed:

 

18) Social Media content is not to be used as  source material unless it is from a recognized or approved news media source,  the source of any such material (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube  etc.) should always be shown.

4 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

And since his release at least 6 years ago?

 

Anything there?

 

Or maybe he had turned his life round eh...

Were you his 6 year chaperone, he wasn't on drugs at the time of his arrest, the bag of white stuff came from above.....?

8 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

And since his release at least 6 years ago?

 

Anything there?

 

Or maybe he had turned his life round eh...

Why does it matter.