Funeral honors George Floyd, Americans demand racial justice

After the funeral, Floyd’s golden casket was transported in a car and then in a white horse-drawn carriage to a Houston cemetery where he was buried next to his mother.

The family requested total privacy when they lay Floyd to rest.

Along the way from the church to the burial site, hundreds of people waited to say farewell to Floyd. Many road railings were decorated with ribbons and flowers.
A public viewing for Floyd was organized on Monday at the same African American church in Houston, bringing more than 6,300 people to pay tribute.

Last week, two memorials were held in Minneapolis, Minnesota where Floyd died, and Raeford, North Carolina where Floyd was born.

Hundreds of people paid their tribute to Floyd by laying wreaths at the memorials.

Floyd moved from North Carolina to Houston’s Third Ward community as a baby, and grew up and spent most of his lifetime in the fourth largest U.S. city which he called “home.”

Demonstrations and riots have spread to cities across the United States after a video went viral of George Floyd being suffocated to death by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25.

Since Floyd’s death, Houstonians have remembered him in various ways in his community where the grief can still be felt.

Last week, a “big Floyd” mural was painted on the wall in the Third Ward by a local artist. People of all colors came to pay tribute, sending flowers, cards and balloons.

“I feel like I’m coming by to pay my respect,” Eryka Gomez told local TV KPRC 2. “It’s sad. It’s a loss for the community.”

Also in Houston, a big sign painted with his name was seen at a busy intersection of highways.

Video clips from the Internet showed that a big sign written with the words “George Floyd” replaced an old iconic sign of “Be Someone.”

Source: by Xinhua writers Gao Lu, Chang Yuan