Died in Police Custody his death galvanized protesters across 50 us states and around the world calling for an end to racism and Police Brutality for 8 minutes and 46 seconds a white Police Officer kept his knee pinned on the neck of mr floyd he was already handcuffed and under arrest today weve been hearing from family members politicians pastors civil rights leaders theyre all at his funeral calling for justice and also making a pledge to keep the moving the movement going more lets now speak to john hendren hes joins us now from outside the fountain appraise church in houston john talk us through the mood that you are feeling that i mean there have been so many emotional speeches given by family and friends but there is also a palpable sense of anger. Thats right people that we do out here people who knew george floyd people who didnt know him or are angry at the seeming senselessness of his death but theres also a sense of purpose to that anger were hearing from the politicians inside that building. The george floyd was a kind of accidental hero a man who is changing the world not because of what he did but because of what was done to him and you heard joe biden speak directly to the daughter of George Floyd Jr another 6 year old and he said. When justice is done for george floyd giana your father will have changed the world and you heard the congresswoman Sheila Jackson lee say that george floyd was a kind of change agent that he was here on a mission even if he didnt know it. And so there is this sense that people want to seize this moment that this death of one man which was purely senseless you know and one sense was also purposeful in the sense that it has galvanized the Movement Across the nation we are here 3 hours into this service and were still hearing powerful moving messages and the fact that building is still full of 500. 00 people gives you an idea of this sense of that feeling i mean its 35. 00 degrees celsius nearly out here the crowds had to go in and theyre Wearing Masks in and gear for the coronavirus but theyve done this out of a sense of responsibility many of told us that theyve come here because they felt that they should and those who werent invited to go inside are outside and theyve been outside yesterday when thousands of people milled by George Floyds casket i want to give you a little sense of some of what the family has had to say this is a little of what they had to say. So no remorse while i smoke was so leave his body he bade him plead it many times just for you to give but you just just hug. Him probably him last night but africanamerican. You. Know i hate crowds. So is that make America Great again but when you have america ever great. Big. Thats a big thing all. Everybody know before the. 3rd war. That we all want it but weve got to be remember everybody going to remember him around the world you want to say the world. I just want to thank all the mothers that are here today. And. Just them. And just let them know. We are for all of these young black men. That are coming up in this world today. And just them and love them because well never know when the time when. I just want to thank each and every one of you. Again a huge family. This service now more than 3 hours under way was scheduled to be over it will end with a eulogy from the reverend al sharpton and civil rights leader and then george floyd will be carried to his final resting place next to his mother at a cemetery here in houston but as his journey and inside were hearing a call to continue this movement that is reached across the United States and indeed around the world and the objective of that movement is to stop police from killing unarmed africanamericans here in the u. S. And to change the laws so that theyre more fair and equal to all races that is the message coming out of this ceremony and the message for which many in here are saying george floyd gave his life john hendren there for us outside those funeral proceedings in Houston Texas well be talking to him throughout the morning and afternoon for now thank you john. But now lets go to natasha shes in minneapolis minnesota at the very spot where george floyd was killed attention i can see the crowd that behind you tension that nothing like its growing how the people remembering him. This place has been described as sacred and to think she wary and the people whove been coming so far today its the mood has been very emblematic of a sanctuary or a sacred place its been a very quiet crowd of people talking quietly amongst themselves taking photos looking at signs such as this that those rust in power george floyd. And theres been a lot of families here small children with parents trying to explain what for many may be the inexplicable theres also been a little bit ive seen some tables here of activism so remember that there is a call by the majority of the city council here in minneapolis to disband the Police Department they say they have a veto proof majority and they say that the Police Department is beyond reform there is likely to be some sort of a standoff with the mayor jacob frye because he says he does not support abolishing the Police Department but rather wants to reform the Police Department but critics would say that there has been an ongoing rise in complaints against the minneapolis Police Department despite the fact that officers have been told to wear body cameras despite the fact that they have been trained in deescalation techniques despite the fact that in the last 5 years minneapolis Police Officers use force against black people 7 times more often than they did against white and of course theres a real sense of urgency here for a change people are saying they do not want to see a nother unarmed whack man die in minneapolis Police Custody. Natasha going to live on the streets of minneapolis thanks so much. Well democratic president ial hopeful joe biden sent a video message to those attending the funeral in houston. Too many black to. Lose their life. Just living. Why it is just. Like a managed. To turn away you must not turn away. Thinking we can once again turn away from racism. That are very. Well thats now bring and White House Correspondent candy how that shes in washington d. C. Can be just hearing there from joe biden a very seemingly genuine response and speaking really about acknowledging pain and trying to 10 pain into purpose what weve been hearing from the white house today. Well we havent heard much with respect to the funeral thats taking place the president s schedule has been clear he has been tweeting but not specifically about george floyd he did address this a number of days ago saying that he spoke to the family he also said that george floyd would not die in vain but the position of this white house has been and continues to be that there isnt a blanket problem with policing in the United States well rather that there are some bad apples if you will that need to be rooted out now for the Vice President s part he has been speaking extensively with the family of course we know that he met just 24 hours ago with the family in houston or something that video message but joe biden will also as he campaigns and faces off against donald trump for the president ial election in november will also have to answer to the black Community Remember he has a long legislative record. And that may be a problem for him as a u. S. Senator he presided over some very tough legislation in the 1990 s. That many of argue was disproportionately responsible for a large number of africanamericans going to jail and remaining there so well he has been sympathetic he certainly seized on this moment as a president ial candidate who is trying to win the white house these using very strong emotive words but once the tears draw and many africanamericans look at the record they will be asking some tough questions weve already heard much of that with the social unrest that has occurred many in the black lives Matter Movement are concerned that particularly white democrats white liberals may be seizing on this politicizing this to a certain extent so these are some of the discussions at the Grassroots Level having said that certainly weve seen House Democrats moving forward with legislation to try and bring about change ending things like chokeholds racial profiling and also creating a Police Registry and in fact that momentum will continue because on wednesday the brother of george floyd filling these floyd will be here in washington on capitol hill testifying as part of that effort to get that 1st step of at least addressing federal policing in the United States but its important to remind our viewers that this is not going to be a blanket solution that much of the change that people on the streets have been demanding in recent days and weeks will come at the local level will involve voting in november for Different Police chiefs for different mayors for different to district prosecutors in order to see that these policies in the movement that has been created this groundswell will be reflected in criminal justice moving forward. House correspondent thank you very very much campaigning when we can speak to eric ham he is a political analyst in washington d. C. Is also the author of the g. O. P. Civil war erick i want to start with well when it came to the left off with this democratic bill for a wide ranging Police Reform will it ever become itll. Its very difficult to see how it can under this president President Donald Trump has already made clear that this legislation is dead on arrival and he talks about his affinity for the police in fact when he spoke at the rose garden right before we saw those protesters sprayed with tear gas and rubber bullets he made clear he was the law and order president and so President Donald Trump is not going to do anything that he thinks my alienate his base remember we are in in an Election Year and President Donald Trump gray now needs to ensure that everyone is under the tent is under the fold and right now this legislation does not bode well for this president particularly with his base and he speak out about his base and has Approval Rating has already taken a dip and he is apparently losing portions of his base his ears and whats driving. Hes losing evangelicals and hes losing the all important white suburban women voters no president is doubling down on this issue of law and law on law and order because he believes that will resonate with white suburban women however when we look at where the numbers are particularly on the civil unrest that is coursing through the country right now an overwhelming majority of americans believe that something needs to be done about Race Relations in the United States that includes those white suburban women that President Donald Trump desperately needs now if we go back to 2018 we saw that many of those women began voting democratic and it appears as though they are continuing to stay in the democrat for right now so president needs to do what he can to ensure that at least he is able to appeal some of those voters away in addition the president did not get the mileage that he wanted out of that photo up in front of St Johns Church because we do know that some evangelicals are beginning to move away from this president and that could be a number of reasons that could be because they just dont see this president engaging particularly at this time when right now the nation is looking for and seeking healing and it could be also the president s continued push to not suggest or to deny the fact that colbert 90 is still very much a problem and wrecking havoc across the country President Trump is clearly already and campaigning led judging by his tweets and yet were still quite a long way off from november he appears to be wanting to get out again. Physically on the campaign trail and he seems to do quite well in terms of galvanizing support when he gets to have his rallies so as restrictions ease does that change the calculus here for him. Well the president hopes that it does but heres where this could get very tricky for the president over the last week or so we have seen the number of kobe 1000 cases rise to record levels and many of the key states that President Donald Trump is focusing on right now states like North Carolina texas florida and arizona and those are places where President Trump will be wanting to hold these rallies again these rallies are like oxygen theyre like breath for the president they allow him to show america to show his base that he is below of that that they like him and that they are behind him and the president has not been able to do that in fact we havent seen much of the president over the last week since these protests and demonstrations have occurred but now that were seeing the number of cases of kobe 1000 continue to rise its getting in the way of President Donald Trumps narrative that the United States has moved beyond that and the country is opening back up in fact what its doing here its undercutting his argument because in fact we are seeing so many cases and that goes to the president s argument that he wants to see a Republican National convention with tens of thousands of people with no social distancing without mass but yet in the states where the president wants to hold that we are seeing Record Number of cases in those very states right now and i can map as promised breaking it down for us both a Global Pandemic and a huge amount of National Tensions and an election and thanks for joining us. Thank you lets now talk to dr frank leon roberts he is in new york city and he is the nations 1st professor to teach a black labs mattia seminar New York University is also the founder of black lives mattia syllabus dot com dr roberts last hour we spoke about how this time around it feels different right and george floyd spent the last few weeks of his life recovering from coronavirus weve been talking about this pandemic and it really has absolutely laid bare the inequalities in the u. S. And i want to go back to some c. D. C. Figures africanamericans make up 13 percent of the population but 30 percent of cases what impact has this pandemic had in spurring this movement that were seeing now or i think as i said in the 1st hour i think you need. Help to ignite the flame exacerbate these feelings of social unrest so when you have a group of people meeting particularly the u. S. Black community that is all really used to this epidemic of Police Violence and then on top of that you put it would you make up with kill the growth of virus and then on top of that you put a new one employment numbers that are disproportionately affecting the communities theres only so much that one community can bear its always certainly fueling this sense of on growth that we see throughout the country dr Robert George floyd arkell was a talented footballer but he didnt end up managing to finish a sport scholarship so there may be opportunities which are albeit already few and far between but there are clearly other life pressures too and others are struggling with the same difficulties he went back to a place rife with poverty gangs drug issues how does racial inequality how is that addressed within the context of these broad social economic challenges. Im sorry your question is how a is how do you address how its leningrad i see in the United States when there are these broad social economic challenges where people are going back to areas where theyre having to deal with a whole range of other obstacles how do how do we bring people closer together when there are so many of the divisions keeping them apart. Right for we need is a very broad political agenda that works for everyone as opposed to a chills and fever and thats been far and few between in the United States but we also have part of the problem in the us is we have a bipartisan disregard for poor people us so much of the political conversation in washington both among democrats and republicans is about the middle class but the reality is a disproportionate number of black people are in that Lower Income Group the lower class and there is no robust policy conversation happening on either the left or the right of the democrats or the republicans that addresses the particularities of that experience of what it means to not only be black but also be poor in america and soul what we need to do is kind of shift our conversation understanding that when we help those communities that are on the ground who have boots on their neck miniport least speaking we help everyone when we help the George Taylors and the briana tailors of the world addressing the social conditions that theyre living in everyone who is above them on the social hierarchy benefits and so on less than until politicians begin to understand that that when you help black communities you built everyone else the situation is unlikely to change that was dr frank leon roberts the founder of that climbs massa said of us dot com thanks for joining us again here on aljazeera. I think you have me. Well lets take you back to Houston Texas on the fountain of praise chats where the funeral proceedings of george trains all still continuing right now were hearing from james dixon the 2nd and hes introducing reverend al sharpton here on the unity thats. A person to the earth. And when this preacher was birthed god knew thered be moments like this. It would take someones voice to speak truth to power profit a plea. That would change the world. And i hope that when we hear this preacher we all america understands that yes we can change promises in legislation but if we want to change this situation why do parents have to teach their boys to be brothers to blackboards. We have to teach out daughters to be sisters whether youre black white or brown. Because we enjoy it floyd was gasping for breath saying i cant breathe he was speaking the language of 400 years of africans in this country we couldnt breathe owned a slave ships we couldnt breathe in german coal we couldnt breathe through segregation we couldnt breathe to mass incarceration we couldnt breathe and theres been a preacher on the scene for the last 4 decades telling us americans we cant brain invents a curse we cant breathe when Trayvon Martin incense but we cant breathe and this preacher is here today in Houston Texas because george small it died saying we cant breathe out want you to welcome to this pulpit today the iconic preaching voice but no i didnt preach it was the anatomy of the reverend dr ellis sharpton the boys are fighting our lead at. We dont find out that because of him guess what what all of us are going to prevent a list then it would seem to come again rather than i am shocked that. The 1st of this family and. The whole family that has suffered this crime. I hear people talk about what happened to george floyd. Like there was some. Thing less than a crime. This was not just a tragedy. It was a crime. And this family has bo and theres those and im 1000 of all of them that im given because this is a time that we need to understand that theyre going to do everything they can. To delay these trials. And delayed the accountability and try to wear this family down. And men need that are standing and coming today and skin in and grin and in front of cameras. Will not be here for the long run. We must commit this family all of these fam. All 5 of his children grandchildren and all that will be people paid for what they did there we go be there with them because lives like george will not matter until somebody pays the cost for taking their lives. We cannot just act like this is some new way of teaching sociality. We can act like this is some new needful some of us to add social justice to our programs on sunday morning. There is an intention no neglect to make people pay for taking our land. If blacks had done no one white. Every fall black cops had done no one white. What was done their job or they wouldnt have to teach no new lessons they wouldnt have to get called peroration to get money they would send them to jail and until we know the price for black life is the same is the price for white light we dont keep coming back to these situations over and over again either the law will work or it wont work so i want to give honor to the family and a commit that were going to be up for the long haul when the last t. V. Truck is gone well still be here. Ive gotten to know some of the family over the last few days ive seen them cry and cried and seen him talk i told them our grow up and brown family i know we always dont get along ive got some cousins watching me now that better never call me. Thats what families are. But ive also seen him a light moments. Never good last week where. The family that was there talking window former president obama on the phone and said were not asking to come closer to take all the secret service stuff and all that but we just want. To thank you and your wife for calling and calling on name obama brother ill. Do in the speech youve been making. And the president made a mistake i asked him what is it you know me to do. Just tell me where i could be helpful and for lowness said well 2 things we want justice and we here minneapolis can you send me some food down here. Because they only had a finger food ared thing was closed up in minneapolis hes i know and driven als died i want some food. So we had some light moments i want to also say give on to reverend dr remus right. And revenue. For opening the doors of this church and putting the arms around sabrina and her family at this out they know this is going to be controversial in some circles yet they open the door was in a way not knowing what would happen not knowing how people would behave and as i spoke with him on the phone and he welcomed this family i think we of given them a lot of. We should not take them for granted and not think that they are deserving of a lot on that hes a man and shes a woman of courage we have too many holy punks and the pope. The thing you dont do no amount shall come will save it i gotta say. Give a hand our pastor bremers right. And says to me all right. I also want to and i wont get into my eulogy so we can stay on time but i must recognize attorney ben crump. Call him black americas attorney general. Probably because we dont feel we have one. Ben crump has fought and stood for many cases and he has with him a Legal Team Im sure that a big knowledge. That here brother stewart be married and we should not take for granted when black lawyers take these cases like cross paths they are targeted by their boss will see as. Theyre targeted by people that are envious and jealous. We need civil rights lawyers that are there full civil rights not for civil settlements. And thats why i give him recognition i must also recognize several families are here that came at great sacrifice but they wanted to be here to be part of this because they understand the pain betta than anyone because theyve gone through the pain and i think that we should recognize the mother of Trayvon Martin where you stand. The mother. The mother of every gun know where you stand. Then john will you stay in. The family of Pamela Turner right here in houston will you stand. The prada of my go brown from predators and missouri where you stand. The father of. 3 where you stand. All of these families came to stand with this family because they know better than anyone else the pain they will suffer. From the loss that they have gone through. Also want to thank all of those that helped. To make this as easy as they could for the family. Certainly we pay again. Those in the financial and entertainment world. It immediately jumped up and said to the family that they wanted to help. And make sure that they didnt have to worry about expense tyler perry. And. Dropping smith. And champion floyd mayweather. You know those that have called and it means a lot because it shows the world the weight of this brother jamie foxx is with us today stand up james. The who. Albions show is in the house today. So i let me get into my message to tara long hair about