MINNEAPOLIS – George Floyd’s family and closest friends gathered Thursday to mourn the Minneapolis man, whose death under a policeman’s knee ignited a national conversation about systemic racism.
Loved ones filed into a sanctuary at North Central University in Minneapolis, paying tribute to their son, brother, father and dear friend who died at the age of 46.
Thursday’s service starts an extraordinary multi-city series of memorials so loved ones can honor Floyd in the communities where he was born, raised and died.
The sanctuary at North Central University can seat 1,000 people, but only 500 will be allowed inside as the school practices social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s been overwhelming,” Adarryl Hunter, 45, a friend of Floyd’s for more than 25 years, told NBC News as he entered the hall. “The magnitude and the response of what happened — how I knew him kind of gets a little bit lost in there because the other stuff is more important.”
“The scale of this is so big, that how I knew him and how we were friends, there’re more important issues.
Outside the sanctuary, demonstrators arrived an hour earlier to support Floyd’s grieving loved ones. Some of them wore facial coverings and donned t-shirts with the message, “We can’t breathe,” referencing the final words uttered by Floyd and Eric Garner, another black man who died in police custody.
Kalin Jackson, 36, arrived at the university in the hopes of witnessing the memorial service with her 11-year-old daughter, Amira.
“She needs to see this historic moment,” Jackson said. “I’ve been a victim of police brutality, I’ve witnessed police brutality on several occasions. Right now I just feel like the events of the past 10 days are us finally tired. We’re absolutely tired.”
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Floyd died a week ago Monday after he was accused of passing a suspicious-looking $20 bill at a corner store and arrested by Minneapolis police.
Minutes later, a handcuffed Floyd was facedown on the pavement with officer Derek Chauvin, who was later fired, pressing his knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Passersby recorded the incident as Floyd begged for air and his mom. Chauvin was arrested Friday and originally charged with third-degree murder before that was upgraded on Wednesday to second-degree murder.
Floyd’s relatives said they hope his death and this series of memorials can lead to lasting change in America’s view of race.
The state of Minnesota has already launched a sweeping civil rights probe of the Minneapolis Police Department.
“The family is not independent of the community,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said before he was scheduled to eulogize Floyd on Thursday. “The family wants to see something happen.”
After the North Central University memorial, Floyd’s remains are set to be transported to his birth city of Raeford, North Carolina, for a public viewing on Saturday.
Then on Monday, another viewing is set to be held, this time in Houston, where Floyd was raised.
And finally, on Tuesday, Floyd’s funeral is scheduled to be held at The Fountain of Praise Church in Houston, and former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to attend, the man’s family said.
When Biden first announced his candidacy, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said issues of racial inequality would be central to his campaign.
He’s been highly critical of President Donald Trump, calling him a “threat” to the nation and noting that Trump said there were some “very fine people on both sides” in Charlottesville, where white nationalists were protesting the city’s plan to take down a statue of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general.
Floyd’s death has sparked protests across America, with police at times clashing with demonstrators. Looters have moved in in the evening hours and destroyed retail stores in cities across the country.
Trump has vowed to bring the clashes under control and even threatened to send military forces into U.S. cities, if necessary.
Weekend chaos appeared to quell a bit by Wednesday night. Earlier that day, Chauvin’s charges were upgraded and three fellow police officers were arrested and charged with aiding and abetting in the alleged crime against Floyd.
This is a developing story, please refresh here for updates.
Daniella Silva reported from Minneapolis and David K. Li from New York
Associated Press contributed.