Rev. Al Sharpton to eulogize George Floyd at memorial service Thursday
The makeshift memorial and mural outside Cup Foods where George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on Sunday, May 31, 2020 in Minneapolis , Minnesota. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Rev. Al Sharpton announced he will eulogize George Floyd Thursday at North Central University for his funeral service.
Sharpton, a civil rights activist, said it’s important to remember Floyd as more than a hashtag or a headline, but as a human being.
WATCH: Coverage for the George Floyd memorial service will begin at 12 p.m. on FOX 9 and can be streamed live on FOX9.com/live and the FOX 9 App.
The memorial service for George Floyd begins at 1 p.m. Thursday.
Floyd’s family, including his son Quincy Mason, traveled to Minnesota to begin the process of saying goodbye Wednesday. They visited the site at 38th and Chicago that has become a memorial to Floyd.
The 2-hour, private, invite-only service is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. inside the Trask Worship Center on the Christian School’s campus. The sanctuary has a capacity of about 1,000 with room for more in overflow space, but COVID-19 restrictions will limit the crowd size.
Other notable atendees will be Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz.
Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, who also died at the hands of police, will also be in attendance.
“This young man was crying for his mother at the end,” said Carr. “That was like my son echoing from the grave, saying, ‘Momma, you gotta do something. They’re still killing us.’”
DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD
George Floyd, a black man, died on Memorial Day while in police custody. Three police officers held him down, with one of them, Officer Derek Chauvin, kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.”
Bystander video showed Chauvin continued to kneel on Floyd’s neck even after he lost consciousness and appeared to stop breathing. None of the officers, including the fourth officer standing nearby, moved from their positions until an ambulance arrived, despite bystanders’ pleas.
TIMELINE: A chaotic, emotional week in Minneapolis following death of George Floyd
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner has ruled his death a homicide and determined his heart stopped as the officers restrained him.