everyone in here in the state of minneapolis. you adopted my brother and showed him so much love and we feel that love in your city and thankfully, everybody especially around the world. it's a beautiful thing and great love we are receiving an george floyd is receiving because he would love it. when she was here in the flesh to see it, but all this great unity, but my brother, big floyd, as you all know. cooking wise, grew up in our house and they would say you make the best grilled cheese. can you please go make us one. if i tell you as a six or 7-year-old kid, i did that numerous times. you all are just using me. but you know, it happened to be -- great guy, great

gentleman, great man, and as a child without a father figure, he was a big brother, but i didn't see the little stuff, doing the best he can and the mistakes he made, and following him and correcting myself as a grown man going up and learning from him how to be a man, everything he taught us, he was teaching us how to be a man because he was already and gave us a lot of great lessons. and one thing about a man is responsibility, he was standing up for his family and friends, and he was great at that, and i want you guys didn't know that he was standing up for any injustice to anyone. can you all please say his name? thank you. [applause]

>> i'm brandon williams, george's nephew. we happen to share the same middle name for some reason. my mama wanted to name us after all of our siblings and coincidentally, i ended up with george. growing up, i'm a lot younger than them, but my grandmother raised me. i didn't have a father figure in my life so i grew up in the same house with them and my uncles were more of a father figure in my life. i gravitated to him. coming up, i played sports, he did. that kind of connected us and brought us close and try not to be sad. this is a lot harder than i thought it would be. i just remember. i just remember all of the

memories, so more than anything, i just want to say thank you to him just for being there, just being a real genuine person, being loving and caring and somewhat i can count on no matter what. we didn't have much, but coming up, my grandmother tried that and he made sure i had sneakers and clothes and a lot of stuff like that and i appreciate that. i'm going to end it with a funny story, he was the biggest lebron james fan, and i remember. i don't know if you guys are familiar with the nba but when the cavaliers came back on the golden state warriors the finals, i remember the very first phone call, and told him you're too happy. you sound like you won a championship. we laughed about it then but he said you know how i feel about lebron. i did win a championship. so every time we would talk, i

would ask him how you doing, man? are you good? and he would say i feel like i won a championship. and that stuck. he was just as inside thing we had. so i know him being the strong person he wasn't seeing everybody come together and just rally around him and seeing all of the love and support to our family, we are thankful and grateful, and i know more than anything with everybody grieving and hurting, he would want us to feel like we won a championship. so i end on that note. thank you all. [applause] >> please give his family another round of applause. [applause] please show them love. show them love.

thank you all so much for bearing your hearts. and if learned one thing, the floyd boys like to eat. and also, they had a conversation with tyler perry, and it was pretty profound because they said we are the big extended black family that you portray on your movie screens because we all need one another. and you can tell this family always needed george. and so it is awfully difficult for them. the plea for justice is simply

this. dr. martin luther king said "he who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it." he who accepts evil without protesting against it is really like cooperating with it." we know that video, we saw, he was tortured. reverend jackson, what we saw in that video was inhumane. what we saw in that video was evil. and central america, we proclaim

as we memorialize george floyd, do not cooperate with evil. in protest against evil. young people in the street protesting against the evil, the inhumane, the torture that they witnessed on that video. in you cannot cooperate with evil. we cannot cooperate with injustice. we cannot cooperate with tortu torture. because george floyd deserved better than that. we all deserve better than that. his family deserve better than that. his children deserve better than that. all george wanted from life is what any of us want.

as thomas jefferson said in the declaration of independence, in inalienable right endowed by our creator. the right to life, liberty, and the perceived to be happy on this earth. that's all george was asking for like any and all of us. but he was denied those rights. and we would seek justice in his name. we were all united as a people who are god's children seek justice in his name. but beyond a specific gesture in his case, the prosecution of the four individuals who deprive george of his life, we seek a

brighter, more transformative justice. a system of policing, a more just treatment of people of color. a more just criminal justice system. in essence, what we are endeavoring to do is what my personal hero thurgood marshall said. make the constitution real for all americans. you see, justice marshall said the basis of the constitution is simply this, that a black baby born to a black mother, the most

uneducated black mother, the most inarticulate black mother, the most impoverished black mother has the same exact rights as a white baby born to a white mother, the most educated white mother, the most articulate white mother, the most affluent white mother. in just by virtue of that baby drawing his first breath as an american. now i know that's not the case in america today, but i challenge anybody to say that that is not the goal we are fighting for. he said i challenge anybody to say that is not what makes america a beacon of hope and justice for all the world to marvel so when we fight for the george floyd's of the world but

more importantly, when we fight for the unknown when we fight for travon bryant's of the world, when we fight for the michael brown's of the world, when we fight for the lando jam, eric garner, when we fight for the sander blends of the world, when we fight for the ahmaud arberys of the world, when we fight natasha, when we fight for the stephan clarks of the worlde fight for the least of these, what we are really doing is helping america live up to its creed, what we are really doing is helping america be the great beacon of hope and justice for all the world to marvel but

most importantly, brothers and sisters, what we are doing is helping america be america for all americans. what we want is not to justice systems in america, one for black america, and one for white america, what we endeavor to achieve is equal justice for the united states of america and george floyd is the moment that gives us the best opportunity i have seen in a long time, an idea that this country was founded on. thank you so much. this is a plea for justice.

on behalf of the family, the children, we will get justice. we are committed to it. now, i would introduce you to a man who really needs no introduction who will eulogize george floyd. he is a man who has fought for so many families that too many hashtags to remember. and when he gets the call, he always answers the call even when the cameras aren't around, even after the cameras are gone. ask stephan clark's family, ask any of these families, the cameras have long gone, but continues to answer the bell when our people call. he is a leader that you see on

tv commentating about our experiences, but more importantly, he is a leader who has lived our experiences, and because he has lived those experiences, that's what makes him so effective in commentating on msnbc about our experiences, and he is going to talk about the experience of the terrible loss of somebody who should be with us today, and that is george floyd. please give a great round of applause for the reverend al sharpton. [applause] >> thank you.

i want us to not sit here and act like we had a funeral on the schedule. 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. he died because of there has not been the corrective behavior that has taught this country that if you commit a crime, it does not matter whether you wear

blue jeans or a blue uniform, you must pay for the crime he committed. so it is not a normal funeral. is not a normal circumstance, but it's too common. and we need to deal with it. let me ask those of you that in the traditions of eulogies need a scriptural reference, go to ecclesiastes third chapter. first verse says "to everything, there is a time and a purpose and season under the heavens." i'm going to leave it there. i saw somebody standing in front of a church the other day that had been boarded up as a result of violence, held a bible in his

hand. i've been preaching since i was a little boy. i've never seen anyone hold a bible like that, but i'll leave that alone. but since he held a bible, if he's watching us today, i would like him to open that bible. and i'd like him to read ecclesiastes 3. to every season, there is a time and a purpose. and i think that it is our job to let the world know when they see what is going on in the streets of this country and in europe around the world that you need to know what time it is.

first of all, you cannot use bibles as a prop and for those who have agendas that are not about justice, this family will not let you use george as a pr prop. [cheers and applause] if you want to get that, don't use him. let us stand for what is right. because when i got the call from attorney crump, and usually when he calls me, it is not to find out how i'm doing. is usually because something happened that he wants us to get

involved. and explained to me what is happening with this case, i have only heard about in the media. and the media last said let me know what you want me to do and said whatever you need to do. one of the things that i've always had to deal with credits is all al sharpton wants his publicity prayer that's exactly what i want because nobody calls me to keep a secret. people call me to blow up issues that nobody else would deal with. i'm the blowup man and i don't apologize for that. because you get away too much when hiding things.

talked about putting clothes in the oven to have your clothes dried. i didn't grow up in the third world, i grew up in brownsville, and we had roaches. i know some of the rich hollywood folks here don't know what roaches are, but we had roaches. one thing i found out about roaches is if you keep the light off, if you're in the dark, approachable pull-up to your dinner table and have a five-course meal. so i learned one of the ways to deal with roaches is if you cut the light on, i can run those roaches and track them down.

and i spent all my life chasing roaches all over this country. as soon as i talked to the family and got the details and heard that among george's last words was "i can't breathe," with a knee on his neck, i immediately thought about eric garner. i did a eulogy at his funeral and i called his mother and i said i know we are not going out because of the coronavirus, but this is so much like eric. we could arrange some private

way to go to minneapolis, would you go? and she said i'm already packing. let me know. tyler perry said i'll give the families the plane, whatever you need because this is wrong. robert smith said don't worry about the funeral cost. people across economic and racial lines started calling and getting in, and we flew out here, her and i, last thursday, and when i stood at that spot, reason it got to me is george floyd story has been the story of black folks because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dream to be is you kept your knee on our necks.

we were smarter than the underfunded schools you put us in, but you had your knee on our neck. we could run corporations and you had your knee on our neck. we had creative skills, we can do whatever anybody else could do, but we couldn't get your knee off our neck. what happened till floyd happens every day in this country, and education and health services and in every area of american life. is time for us to stand up in george's name and say get your knee off our neck.

that is the problem no matter who you are. we thought maybe we had a complex. maybe it was just us, but even that broke through. you kept your knee on that neck. michael jordan won all of these championships, and you kept digging because you've got to put a knee on our neck. housewives would run home to see a black woman on tv named oprah winfrey, and you messed with her because you just can't take your knee off our neck. man comes out of a single parent

home, educates himself and rises up and becomes the president of the united states, and you ask him for his birth certificate because you can't take your knee off our neck. the reason why we are marching all over the world is we would like george. we couldn't breathe not because it was something wrong with our lungs, but you wouldn't take your knee off our neck. we don't want any favors. get up off of us, and we can be and do whatever we can be.

there have been protests all over the world. some have looted and done other things and none of us in this family condones looting or violence, but the thing i want us to be real cognizant of it is there is a difference between those calling for peace and those calling for quiet. [cheers and applause] some of you don't want peace. you want quiet. you just want us to shut up and suffer in silence. the overwhelming majority of the people march, they were trying

to break barriers, they were trying to get back to just as you stole from us. those that broke the law should pay for whatever law they broke, but so should the four policemen that cause this funeral today. we don't have a problem denouncing violence, mr. governor. we don't have a problem denouncing the looting, but it seems like something the criminal justice system has a problem looking at a tape and knowing there is probable cause and it takes a long time for you to go and do what you see that you need to do.

but as he said i've been involved in a lot with these fights, it started around criminal justice. i did speeches and eulogies at most of the funerals that we've had in this space in the last couple of decades. and lead to marches and did what we had to do. i look at martin the third, we went to jail together fighting these fights like his daddy went to jail before. but i am more hopeful today than ever. why? let me go back. reverend jackson always taught me, go back to the text, ecclesiastes. there is a time and a season, and when i looked this time and saw marches where in some cases,

young lights "outnumbered" the blacks marching, i know that it's a different time and a different season. when i looked and saw people in germany marching for george floyd, it's a different time and a different season. when they went in front of the parliament in london, england, and said it's a different time and a different season, i've come to tell you america, this is the time for accountability in the criminal justice system. stephen, years ago, i went to march, and i remember young white lady looked me right in

the face and said go home. but when i was here last thursday, and was headed back to the airport, i stopped near the police station, and i was talking to a reporter, a young white girl, didn't look any older than 11 years old. she tagged my suit jacket and i looked around and i braced myself, and she looked at me and said no justice, no peace. it's a different time. it's a different season. and if my bible carrying, if i got him to open up the bible, i want you to remember something. you know i was late last october to an appointment because the time changed, and i was still --

my watch was on the wrong time. once a year, time goes forward, and if you know congresswoman, you're going to find yourself in our late not because your watch was wrong, but you had your watch on the wrong time. i've come to tell you that sitting in washington talking about militarizing the country thinking that you can sell tickets to people who's had enough of abuse, i've come to tell you you can get on tv, but you were on the wrong time. time is out for not holding you accountable. time is out for you making excuses. time is out for you trying to stall. time is out for empty words and empty promises. time is out for you filibustering and trying to stall the arm of justice. this is the time we won't stop.

we are going to keep going until we change the whole system of justice. our organizations have called this a day of mourning. naacp, legal defense fund, black women's roundtable, all got together and said we are going to have a day of mourning. but then we are going to come out of this day of mourning because some of our experts, others that know the legal field have outlined a legal process that we must enforce, everything from residents dealing with police backgrounds, talked governor andrew cuomo today in

new york. he says we've got to change the backgrounds for policemen, we need to know if they stop you, they find out everything you ever did. why don't we know when policemen have a pattern? we've got to go back to consent decrees under the obama administration, put certain cities and patters and practice under consent decrees. that they put it under consent decree. one of the first things that happened in the administration is they stop the consent decree. we have specific policies that need to happen. therefore, i am glad martin the third is here today because on august 28th, the 57th anniversary of the march on washington, we are going back to washington.

that's where your father stood in the shadows of the lincoln memorial and said i have a dream. we are going back this augus august 28th to restore and recommit that dream to stand up because just like in one era, we had to fight slavery. another era, we had to fight jim crow. another era, we dealt with voting rights. this is the era to deal with policing and criminal justice. we need to go back to washington and stand up black, white, latino, arab, in the shadows of lincoln and tell them this is the time to stop this. we talked about this. asked reverend bryant to get the faith leaders together and talk

about the labor leaders, no, we are going to organize in the next couple of months not only for a march, but for a new process, and it's going to be led by the garner family, and it's going to be led by those families that have suffered this and knows the pain and knows what it is to be neglected. and it's going to be getting us ready to vote not just for who's going to be in the white house, but the statehouse and the city councils that allow these policing measures to go unquestioned. we are going to change the time. let me say this to the family who has shown such great grace and real level and balanced

thinking, and that is why i wanted them to help lead this, and i think one of the greatest thinkers of our time, we need to break down because you don't know what time it is. you are operating like it's yesterday, and the reason your late catching up to what these protests mean is because you didn't turn your clock forward. in talking about make america great. great for who and great when? we are going to make america great for everybody for the first time. never was great for blacks, never was great for latinos, wasn't ever great for others. wasn't great for women. women had to march to get the right to vote. but lastly, religious side.

i was reading and kept thinking about how i was a little embarrassed because when i heard that george at this point of suffering, this brutal attack, i said to attorney crump, appreciate talking his brothers and him on the phone but i want to talk to his brother and he said his mother passed it he was calling for his mother, and i thought about it because i was raised by a single mother and sometimes, the only thing between us and our conditions with our mothers, sometimes the only thing that we have that would take danger away was our mother. the only ones that would make sure the food was on the table

was our mother. i know why george was calling for mama. but then as i had gotten that placed in my mind and i realized why i was always calling him and my mother died eight years ago, but i still try to talk to her, sometimes just dial a cell phone to hear the voice mail that i never could. i still want to reach out, but talking to quincy last night, one of his five children, quincy said i was thinking maybe he was calling his mother because at the point that he was dying, his mother was stretching her hands out saying come on, george. i welcome you wear the wicked will cease from troubling, where the weary will be at rest. there's a place where police don't put knees on you, george. there's a place that prosecutors

don't drag their feet, may be mama said come on, george. there's a god that still it's hot but looks down low and he will make a way out of no way. this god is still on the throne, i don't care who is in the white house, we have another house that said if we fight, he will fight our battles. we stand up, he will hold this up. we leave here today, i say to his family, i know that years ago, we told them to keep hope alive. there are times that i lost hope, things could happen like this that will -- your help.

hate is the substance of things. the evidence of things unseen. faith is when you have a pile of bills, but no money. but you say he will provide. faith is when you've got no medicine in the cabinet, and you were sick in your body but saying he's a doctor that never lost a patient, and he will dry tears from my eyes. faith is when your friends walk out, when your loved ones turn their back and said i can't believe you brought me this fa fall. we didn't come this far by luck. we didn't come this far by some fate, we come this far by faith. leaning on the lord, trusting in

his holy word. he never failed me yet. from the outhouse to the white house, we've come a long way, god will. god shall, god will, god always has. he will make a way for his children. go home, george. get your rest, george. you change the world, george. we are going to keep marching, george. we'll keep fighting, george. we are going forward, george. timeout. timeout. timeout. ♪

we ask sing a song for the family. after which derek johnson of the naacp asked me, going to stand for 8 minutes. 46 seconds. that was a time that george was on the ground. we want you all over the world to stand with us. make that commitment for justi justice. i want to thank the members of the congressional black caucus. for being with us. what you stand?

i want to commend dr. martin luther king for being with us. [cheers and applause] i want to thank the mayor and the governor and their for being with the family. senator amy klobuchar of the state of minnesota. i want to thank my mentor and one who has fought this fight for more than a half a century. reverend jesse lewis jackson is with us. and the spokesman, jonathan jackson. i want to thank from the

entertainment world, kevin hart. he told me don't mention that here, so don't clap. stand up, kevin. we joke each other. beloved brother, ludacris. therese gibson, who has an extraordinary active in his own right. master p. the one and only, the creative genius will pack it is with us today. and a brother that we've march together and on a lot of things he does not just put his name on

somebody's petition. he puts his body on the line. brother ti is in the house. i want these brothers, one of the greatest gospel singers alive. wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. i didn't want to announce and say i have barrister, but let me tell you something, one of the t popular, outstanding artist tha. she thinks i'm old and don't read stuff, but i do. i was busy joking with kevin.

wait a minute. don't start this, i've got them all. let us hear a selection from kyle walker. i came all the way from brooklyn, new york, to do this for george in the family. let's sing praises unto our god. let's do it. let stand to our feet everybody, come on. but your hands together, come on. ♪ ♪ every praises to our god

♪ every word of worship ♪ every praise ♪ every praise is to our god ♪ sing hallelujah to our god ♪ glory hallelujah is due, our god ♪ ♪ every praise, every praise is to our god ♪ ♪ every praise is to our god ♪ every word of worship with one accord ♪ ♪ every praise, every praise is to our god ♪ ♪ sing hallelujah to our god ♪ glory hallelujah is due, our

god ♪ ♪ every praise, every praise is to our god ♪ ♪ every praise to our god ♪ every word of worship with one accord ♪ ♪ every praise, every praise is to our god ♪ ♪ sing hallelujah to our god ♪ glory hallelujah is due, our god ♪ ♪ every praise, every praise is to our god ♪ ♪ god, my savior ♪ god, my healer ♪ god, my deliverer

♪ yes, he is ♪ yes, he is ♪ god, my savior ♪ god, my healer ♪ god, my deliverer >> you're watching the special coverage of memorial for george floyd that is live in minneapolis at the worship center at north center university. hearing from the attorney for the family who was on our program yesterday saying "help america be america for all americans." especially when george floyd's brother talked about growing up together, comment and tender moments about football and making banana mayonnaise. he asked in the end for justice for george. juan and donna, brett and lawrence are with me. let's begin with you as the music plays out in minneapolis. good afternoon.

>> good afternoon, bill. i am struck by the family spirit that fills this moment. we've all been concerned about the protests. what we see here is pretty much a family reunion. such touching moments hearing about going over to grandma because that's where you can get food. even learning that his name to the family was perry or big george and how much his hugs meant. so for me, it was like let's remember the human being george floyd. and when i heard ben crump speak who was on the show yesterday, i was so touched when he spoke about the idea that even a child born to the poorest mother, even a child born to the least articulate should have the same opportunity as a child born to the richest white mother in america, but that is america. that is the american vision and

what they are doing there in minneapolis is celebrating george floyd's life is asking america to be america for all of us. this is so inspiring, and so much in accord with what we've seen in the american civil rights movement that has brought us this far. and now we understand what more needs to be done. i was again taken when reverend sharpton spoke about the change in season and how he is amazed to see so many young white people in the lead of these protests, amazed to see their protest march in germany in london around the world. again, standing up for american values with equal opportunity as he quoted thomas jefferson. to me, it's just but an uplifting and inspiring session in minneapolis. >> let me get to everybody else. donna brazile, to you now. >> just so much of what i heard,

the scripture references psalm 27, the lord is my light and salvation. who shall i fear? from the book of proverbs, and ecclesiastes. this is a season of change. we can build from this moment. the pain is still with us, but the hope in the face of moving forward together with liberty and justice for all. i think we should make this moment about peace and reconciliation so we can make this truly a change. >> lawrence jones. >> watching this home-going celebration is different. it is like at home for me when someone passes away. you celebrate the life of going

to the afterlife to sit with jesus, but they have to do this in front of the public radio so that it much different and to see the family exercise such a restraint and compassion and still want justice as well. they called for peace. they said they didn't support the looting and the rioting and destroying businesses but they balance it saying they want justice for the family members. is painful because he has become this symbol for justice around the world, but they lost a brother, a father, a son. and they are sharing him with the world, and it was great to see that they were able to do that with us and share some of the memories. some of the memories that i remember growing up talking about growing up in poverty and

still overcoming it was a beautiful sight. >> thank you for that. i want to bring in my colleague bret baier as well. i just want to mention while the service continues there, there's another one on saturday in north carolina and another one monday and tuesday in houston, texas. we are finding out that the judge set bail for the three other officers at $750,000 apiece just about 60 minutes ago. good afternoon to you. >> good afternoon. i think this is something that transcends this moment as obviously as a white man, i don't claim to articulate the fear and anger in black communities like juan and donna and lawrence just did, but also focused on the hope of getting past this moment and using it to transcend unlike other moments in the past. does feel different. does feel bigger across not only this country, but as you mentioned across the world, i think reverend al sharpton has done a number of these memorial

speeches, funeral condolences, given a lot of the speeches and the cadence that he delivers them. but the power of his rhetoric was he hit it again and again and again about a change, this is a moment of change. people that don't agree with reverend al on his ideology or how he goes about it obviously concerned around the country. >> we will see you at 6:00 tonight. bret baier with us. lawrence jones, thank you, sir. juan williams and donna brazile as we continue to watch the service. there will be several more of them. he was born near fayetteville, and he has family still living in that area near the town of raeford. they will be of service on saturday, two big events.

one on monday and one on tuesday. he lived there, he was raised there, mother passed away in houston, texas, two years ago. so we will follow this over the coming days together.

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and make sure everything's amazing. if so... excellent. if not, swap it out for another or return it for a refund. it's that simple. because at carvana, your car happiness is what makes us happy. >> bill: taking you back to minneapolis, minnesota with this memorial service for george floyd. they are recognizing a little more than 8 minutes and 48 seconds of silence, the time of his arrest and eventual death at the hands of officers who were arresting him at the time. we will continue into this and some comments being made as well to remember the final minutes of mr. floyd's life. ♪