that love. only leaving the jesus way offers us healing and we need healing. because you know and we know that there is nothing that any of us can say that will bring george back. so, we came to say today that we grieve with you. and that your grief has awakened the conscience of the nation. because we are here in god's house and his church, because we believe in the risen lord christ, we believe in the resurrection hope, hope that promises not just a reunion someday, but a restoration this day. we believe in restoration hope that god is that work in our nation rendering hearts and changing minds and bending the moral ark of the universe toward justice. and i hope you know that everyone would have understood if you said we don't need to hear from any white people today. you have been silent long enough. you can be silent one more day.

but i have to tell you, you asked th the whole community to come together. and look what happens. [applause] you have chosen the path of love, the path of perfect love. i want you to know that that is the path not only to your own healing, it's the path to the healing of the whole world. it is the path of partnering with god in redeeming the world and it is a difficult path. you have been asked to carry a burden that would have crushed most people and you have borne it with grace and courage. you have called those who disrupted protests with violence or looting to honor george's life with love. you called a president who sought to dominate to live in a peaceful world to read deliberate. you called those people who's perfect cast out anything that

even looks like love with perfect love that casts out fear and you have been a model for not just america, but for the whole world. and now, we must follow your good example. calling out anything that doesn't honor george or any of the rest of us. domination, injustice, oppression, racism. stephen kleinberg, the eminent sociologist at rice university has taught us that houston, texas, is the most diverse city in america. houston, texas, is ethnically and demographically today what america will be ethnically and demographically in the year 2050, which means we are the experiment in america for how races can get along. but unless and until we are willing to be as brave and as truthful as you have been, nothing will change. the experiment will not yield

any new data. we will simply do over and over again what we have done over and over before. we get sick and tired of being sick and tired. so, it must be different this time. and i have to tell you, at my church, it is easy to not talk about racism. at my church, it is easy to dismiss as politics the economics of hundreds of years of systemic racism but not talking and not acting is the path to destruction. and we can watch that on the news every night and ask if that's the future we want for ourselves. so, could i just have the privilege, i would like to say a word to white churches. [applause] we are better than we used to be but we are not as good as we ought to be and that is not good enough. which means you have to take up the work of racial justice.

racism did not start in our lifetimes, but racism can end in our lifetime. [applause] but only if you ask and i ask what am i going to do about it. and while it is still bothering you right now what you are going to do on a note card and tape that card on a mirror you see every morning you get up and every night before you go to bed and each night ask was i true to the calling. every morning ask what can i do today to bring god's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven?" gianna, i saw you on tv and a reporter asked you what was the best thing about your daddy. and you said, "my daddy changed the world." and if we would do our part, you would have been a prophet.

so, from your mouth to god's ear, amen. [cheers and applause] >> thank you steve and dr. lawson, and to this wonderful family that has demonstrated what it means to be faithful and courageous. all of us and our lives begin with top security. we don't know how it would end in history. no one thought on that january morning of the 15th day of 1929 that that boy would grow up to be the liberator to a movement called the civil rights. no one knew that august of 1961

on the fourth day in hawaii, of all places, in obscurity that the first african-american president would be born. and nobody knew. on october 14th, 1973, in obscurity, north carolina, parents bold and courageous would migrate into houston had no idea that god had birthed someone that now belongs in the rightful place of history. we all began in obscurity. we don't know where we will land in history. the question of theology and ths

where was god in all of this? god is where he has always been. god didn't cause it, but he can certainly use it. unfortunately, we've almost turned it into a cliche, but it's christian bedrock belief that all things work together for the good of them who love the lord and who are called according to his purpose. and so, to this family today, he is working his way and he has been where he always will be. i leave you now with these words. trials dark on every hand. we cannot understand all the ways that god will lead us to that blessed promise land, but he will guide us with his eyes. we will follow him until we die and then we will understand it better by and by. ♪

[applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ lord, we give you praise ♪ and lord we bless your name

♪ and we lift our voice to say thank you ♪ ♪ for your goodness and your mercy towards us ♪ ♪ for your goodness ♪ and your mercy ♪ for your goodness ♪ and your mercy towards us ♪ oh, lord, we give you praise ♪

♪ lord, we bless your name ♪ and we lift our voices ♪ just to say thank you ♪ for your goodness, jesus ♪ and your mercy ♪ for your goodness, jesus

♪ and your mercy ♪ that is for you ♪ for your goodness ♪ and your mercy ♪why are we alloffering praise ♪ ♪ because you are worthy. yes, you are worthy ♪ ♪ of glory ♪ you are worthy of ♪ worthy of praise ♪ for your goodness, jesus

♪ and your mercy ♪ towards us ♪ for your goodness and your mercy ♪ ♪ towards us ♪ we praise ♪ come on and help me sing ♪ worthy of glory ♪ and the honor ♪ worthy of praise

♪ is been so good to us ♪ and your mercy ♪ for your goodness, jesus ♪ your goodness, lord, and your mercy ♪ ♪ for your ♪ he is so good ♪ your goodness ♪ your goodness ♪ your goodness ♪ you've been so good ♪ you've been so good ♪ goodness

♪ thankfulness ♪ faithfulness ♪ gratefulness ♪ kindness ♪ your kindness ♪ your love ♪ for better or worse ♪ for richer or poorer ♪ he loves us ♪ your goodness

♪ thank you for your goodness ♪ thank you for his goodness ♪ his goodness ♪ your goodness, jesus ♪ it never fails ♪ for your goodness and your mercy ♪ ♪ for your goodness and your mercy ♪ ♪ for your goodness and your

mercy ♪ ♪ we offer ♪ we offer ♪ can somebody just offer god praise right now? ♪ ♪ we thank you, lord lord. ♪ ♪ we offer you praise. ♪ ♪ we offer praise

♪ hallelujah. somebody praise him. hallelujah. ♪

♪ speaker at the direction, the program is altered because of the time factor. we appreciate the fact that it was difficult for everyone else to stay within that time. thank you, dr. wright for your auspicious leadership. my privilege and my honor today as we give honor to the family of george floyd is to introduce today a man who needs no introduction, but deserves one. born october 3rd, 1954, al

sharpton. [applause] ♪ grew up like most of us, raised like most of us in church. his son, the schoolteacher had no idea what she was teaching. his pastor had no idea who he was preaching too. his teachers had no idea who they were teaching. but since that time, he has become a social justice activist, civil rights leader, talk show host, commentator, a leader of movements, a world changer, a freedom fighter, a preacher amongst preachers.

when the officer put his knee on the neck of george floyd, he had no idea that the man who's life he had taken would be important enough to have this preacher to preach his eulogy. he probably thought it would end quietly in some obscure funeral home with a few people. but he had no idea that presidents of nations would write about him and that the preacher who would preach the service would be the greatest civil rights preaching voice of our time. and we've talked much about how we change things. but when god wants to change things, he brings a person to

the earth. and when this preacher was birthed, god knew that there would be moments like this where he would take someone's voice to speak truth to power prophetically that would change the world. and i hope that when we hear this preacher, all america understands that yes, we can change policies and legislation. but if we want to change the situation, white parents have to teach their boys to be brothers to black boys. we had to teach our daughters to be sisters whether you are black, white, or brown. because when george floyd was gasping for breath saying, "i can't breathe," he was speaking the years of 400 years of africans in this country. we couldn't breathe on the ships. we couldn't breathe and jim crow. we couldn't breathe during

segregation. we couldn't breathe through mass incarceration. we couldn't breathe. there's been a preacher on the scene for the last four decades telling us, america, "we can't breathe." we can't breathe when trave on martithispreacher is here today because george floyd chanted "we can't breathe." i want you to welcome the iconic preaching voice, anointed preaching personality of the reverend, dr. al sharpton. our leader, our freedom fighter. and because of him, one day all of us will do better. let's stand and receive the honorable, reverend al sharpton. ♪

>> first of his family, the whole family that has suffered this crime. i hear people talk about what happened to george floyd like there was something less banner crime. this was not just a tragedy. it was a crime. and this family has borne this. this is a time that we need to

understand that they are going to do everything they can to delay these trials and delay the accountability and try to wear this family down. and many that are standing and coming today and skimming and grinning in front of cameras. will not be here for the long run. [applause] we must commit to this family, all of these families, all five of his children, grandchildren and all, that until these people pay for what they did, that we gonna be there with them, because lives like george will not matter until somebody pays the cost for taking their life.

we cannot just act like this is some new way of teaching sociology. we can't act like this is some new need for some of us to add social justice to our programs on sunday morning. there is an intentional neglect to make people pay for taking our lives. if four blacks had done to one white, if four black cops had done to one white what was done to george, they wanted have to teach no new lessons. they wouldn't have to get corporations to give money. they would send him to jail. and until we know the price for

a black life is the same of a price for a white life, we are going to keep coming back to the situations over and over again. either the lord will work or it won't work. i want to give honor to the families and a commitment that we are going to be here for the long haul. when the last tv truck is gone, we'll still be here. [applause] i've gotten to know some of the family over the last few days. i've seen them cry in private. i've seen them talk. i told them i grew up in a black family. i know we always don't get along. i've got some cousins watching me now that better no never call me. that's what families are.

but i've also seen them in light moments. i will never forget last week when the family that was there heard president obama on the phone and said we are not asking you to come with all the secret service stuff and all that. but we just want to thank you and your wife for calling and calling our name of our brother, our uncle doing the speeches you've been making. and the president made the mistake of asking, what is it that y'all want me to do? just tell me where i can be helpful. she said, well, to go things we want justice. can you send me some food down here? they only had finger food.

everything was closed up in minneapolis. i want some food. so we had some light moments. i want to also say to reverend wright and reverend mia right. for opening the doors of this church and putting arms around sabrina and her family this hour. they know this is going to be controversial in some circles. yet, they opened the doors anyway, not knowing what would happen, not knowing how people would behave. as i spoke with him on the phone and he welcomed his family, i think we are giving them a lot of, we should not take them for granted.

and i think that they are deserving of a lot of honor. he's a man and she's a woman of courage. we have too many holy punks in the business. [applause] y'all do know that i'm al sharpton. i'm going to say what i've got to say. [laughter] give a hand to our pastor. i also want to and i'm going to get into my eulogy so we can stay on time. but i must recognize -- [applause]

i called him black america's attorney general. probably because we don't feel we have one. ben has fought and stood and he has with him a legal team that i'm sure will be acknowledged. we should not take for granted when black lawyers take these cases like crump has, they are targeted by their associations. they are targeted by people who are envious and jealous. we need civil rights lawyers that are therefore civil rights. not for civil settlements. and that's why i give him recognition. i must also recognize several families in here that came at

great sacrifice. but they wanted to be here to be part of this, because they understand the pain better than anyone, because they've gone through it. and i think that we should recognize the mother of trave on the mother of eric garner where you stand. the sister of john where you stand. the family of pamela turner right here in houston where you stand. the father of michael brown from missouri where you stand. the father of -- go all of these

families came to stand with thi. because they know better than anyone else the pain they will suffer from the loss that they have gone through. i also want to think all of those that helped to make this as easy as they could for the family. certainly, we thank again those in the financial and entertainment world that immediately jumped up and said to the family that they wanted to help and make sure that they didn't have to worry about expense. tyler perry and robert smith and

champion floyd mayweather. and others that have come. it means a lot, because it shows the world the weight of this. brother jamie foxx is with us today. stand up, jamie. [applause] al b. sure! is in the house today. everybody is sending me notes. i want you to turn briefly to the book of ephesians. sixth chapter.

ephesians, the sixth chapter. because i think that we need to understand what we are dealing with here. ephesians 6, it tells the story of why i think we need to really look at the situation differently. it talks about in paul 's letter to the philippines, ephesians. okay, i'm catching up with myself. it says in his letter to the ephesians, he says, "finally, be strong in the lord and in his mighty power. put on the full armor of god so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers and authorities, against the powers of the darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in high places. therefore, put on the full armor of god so when the day of evil comes, ye may be able to withstand. may god add a blessing to the reading of his word. we are not fighting some disconnected incidents. we are fighting and institutional systemic problem that has been allowed to permeate since we were brought to the shores.

and we are fighting wickedness in high places. when you can put your knee on a man's neck and hold that there s not even normal to a civilian, less known to a police officer. try, when you go home to put your knee down on someone and hold it there that long. you've got to be full of a lot of venom, full of something that really motivates you to press down your wait that long and not give out. and to think that you are certified by the state to carry a badge and a gun and you've got all of that in you means that we have permitted people to become

officers of the law that ought to be somewhere else in society. imagine you pressing down on someone 8 minutes that's telling you i can't breathe, that's begging for their life, and you keep pressing. what kind of mentality is that? so, how do we screen who police officers are? and how do we get to this place over and over again? they told eric, put him o in a choke hold. until the law is upheld and people know they will go to jail, they are going to keep doing it, because they are protected by wickedness in high places. how do you prevent crime in the

hood? you scare others by saying if you do that, you are going to jail. well, how are you going to scare a bad cop if bad cops don't go to jail? how are you going to tell them that your fate is going to be bad if you go on the other side of the line when everybody else got away with it? who taught these cops that they can do this to george? and when they are at the highest level of government that excuses it? when some kids wrongly start violence, that this family don't condone and none of us do.

the president talks about bringing in the military, but he has not said one word about 8 minutes and 46 seconds of police murder of george floyd. he said the family has my sympathy and all of this. he didn't give those on the other situation the sympathy. he challenged china on human rights. well, what about the human right of george floyd? [applause] the signals that we are sending is that if you are in law enforcement, that the law doesn't apply to you. and i'm telling you that the law ought to especially apply to you, because you are giving special power that others don't have. we don't have bad representatives of the state.

we are not going through training. we should expect more from you. if you break the law, you ought to be expected to pay an even higher price, because you know better and you swore not to do that. [applause] so yeah, it's nice that everybody wants to now study the problem. it's nice big corporations say we are going to throw money to study equal justice. but if we went out there and did that to a young white kid, you wouldn't need no studying. you would know what to do. and you know what to do now. the bible says do justice. all this family wants is justice. oh, it's nice to see some people

change their mind, head of the nfl said yeah, maybe we was wrong. football players, maybe they did have the right to peacefully protest. well, don't apologize. give colin kaepernick a job ba back! [applause] don't come with some empty apology. take a man's livelihood, strip a man down of his talents. and four years later when the whole world is watching, all of a sudden you go and do a face time talking about you sorry! minimizing the value of our lives. you sorry?

then repay the damage you did to the career you stood down, because when he took a knee, he took it for the families in this building and we don't want an apology. we want him repaired. equal justice. equal fairness. we are not anti-anybody. we are trying to stop people from being anti-us. we want the lord to apply. you don't need a whole lot of studying about that. yes, we need new laws. yes, the congress has stepped

up. yes, we need to close these laws. yes, we need to stop where policemen can just say based on what they thought, they can use lethal force. yes, we need residency requirements. all of what they propose is what we need. but we have enough right now to prosecute policemen to hold somebody down 8 minutes and 46 seconds. man said to me, i think a lot of people are confused. i was working out. i work out in the mornings. man said to me, white fellow in the place i was working out, he said "reverend al, i see you on tv and you are also talking about race." i said, "yeah. he said "haven't we come a long

way customer" and i said yeah, but you have to understand how far we have to go. you have to understand how deep it is peer he said "what do you mean?" i said "about eight, nine years ago, the newspaper of new york did a background on my family and they found out that my great grandfather was a in south carolina. i went down there with the newspaper and we went to the graveyard. and my great grandfather was owned by the family of strong thurman, the segregationist. and i went to the white church, the first baptist church and in the graveyard, there was a tombstone. i would say about a quarter of the cemetery, the tombstone said sharpton's. and i said you mean all of these? they said wait a minute, the

plantation of your grandfather was about a mile away. they only put pebbles over their graves. so, it occurred to me that every time i write my name, sir, that is not my name. that's the name of who owned my great grandfather. that's how deep race is that every time i write my name, i'm writing in american history of what happened to my people. i can't talk about what my great-grandparents did. they were enslaved and we are still being treated less than others. and until america comes to terms with what it has done and where it has been, we will not be able to heal, because you have not recognized the wound. [applause]

floyd could have been anybody. but then, the reaction was not anything. because somewhere i read in the bible, god said he would pour out his spirit among all flesh. and that's why when i heard them talking about they never thought they would see young whites marching like they marching now. all over the world, i've seen grandchildren of slave masters carrying down slave master statues over in england and pouring it in the river. i will pour out my spirit among all flesh. i've seen whites walking past curfews and saying no. black lives matter. no justice, no peace.

i pour out my spirit among all flesh. you now live where you have sown wickedness and now you have to reap the wrath of those who don't want to be wicked no more. that a man sows, that he shall also reap. so, because god in his own way, one of the ministers said it right. god always uses unlikely people to do his will. if george floyd had been an ivy league school graduate and one of these with a long title, we would have been accused of reacting to his prominence. if he had been a multimillionaire, they would have said that we were reacting to his wealth. if he had been famous as he was

on the trajectory to be, we would have said we were reacting to his fame. but god took an ordinary brother from the housing projects that nobody thought much about. he took the rejected stone, the stone that they rejected. they rejected him for jobs. they rejected him for positions. they rejected him to play on certain teams. god took the rejected stone and made him the cornerstone of a movement that's going to change the whole wide world. [applause]

i'm glad he wasn't one of these promised brothers. because we would have still thought we were of no value. but george was just george. and now you have to understand, if yo any one of us is of valueo all of us. [applause] oh, if you would have any idea that all of us would react, you would have took your knee off his neck. if you had any idea that everybody from those in the third war to those in hollywood who would show up in houston and minneapolis, found bill north carolina, you would have taken your knee off his neck. if you had any idea that preachers white and black was going to line up in a pandemic

when we told to stay inside and we came out and marched in the streets at the risk of our health, you would have took your knee off his neck! cuz you thought his neck didn't mean anything. but god made his neck to connect his head to his body and you had no right to put your knee on that neck! genesis 2 said that "god formed man. they say he breathed the breath, the breath of life to make him, a live human being. which means that breath comes from god.

breath is how god gives you life. breath is not some coincidental kind of thing that happens. breath is a divine decision that god makes. some babies are born stillborn. god decides to blow breath in them. breath is sanctified. breath is sacred. you don't have the right to take god's breath out of anybody. you can't put breath in their body. but you don't look at it that way because of your wickedness. principalities, darkness. you are sitting now trying to figure out how you are going to stop the protest rather than how you're going to stop the brutality.

[applause] you calling your cabinet in trying to figure out how it's going to affect your vote rather than how it's going to affect our lives. you are scheming on how you can spin the story rather than how you can achieve justice, wickedness in high places. you take rubber bullets and tear gas to clear out peaceful protesters and then take a bible and walk in front of a church and use a church as a prop. wickedness in high places. [applause] you ain't been walking across that street. you wasn't holding up no bible when aubrey was killed.

when taylor was killed in louisville. wickedness in high places. but god got some people that will stand up. let me tell you this. told the story that there was a man laying by the side of the road. he had been robbed and beaten. they said one man came by that was his same race, his fellow brother, and he kept walking. then another man came by that was steeped and well-read in the scriptures, knew every scripture, knew how to quote the book back and forward, but he only quoted the book. he never lived by the book. and he kept walking.

but jesus said a third man came by and he stopped and looked at the man. he wasn't the same race, wasn't the same religion, but he picked the man up and he took care of restoring the man to his rightful being. and jesus called him the good samaritan. the problem is too many of you been walking by the eric garners, been walking by the martins, been walking by the aubrey's. and now we have stopped for george floyd. i'm in houston today because i don't want nobody to call me a passerby. all of you here because we not passerby. we are going to be back in minneapolis when the trial

starts. you may pack the police union on one side, but the righteous is going to be on the other side of that court room. [applause] >> it's time that we reclaim the righteous in this country. reverend, we don't know if we've got the money, the political power. we have got the vote and we've got something that we had before we have the vote. we have god on our side. that's why when there was even in slavery, they used to have church in the slave quarters because they understood that if they called on god that god would answer prayer. in the same god that brought us from chattel slavery is still on the throne.

the same god that brought us from the back of the bus is still on the throne. the same god that brought us from jim crow is still on the throne, and if we are right, he will fight our battle. we will put george's name in history. when they said ask than the one they shouldn't have touched, the neck they shouldn't have been down on. because if my people called by my name would offer themselves and pray and keep my faith and turn from your wicked ways, then you will heal from heaven. i will heal the land. i want to say we have said were going to heat marching. we are to keep protesting.

august 28th, we are going to washington by the tens of thousands. we are going to have a national march on the anniversary of "i have a dream." the floyd family and the other families are going to lead it. i want to say this before i leave, to the fly family don't ever forget in your darkest hour that whatever be tides, god will take care of you. i can preach a little bit. beneath his wing of love abiding, god will take care of you. i was like floyd. i grew up with daddy gone. mama had to make it with welfare checks. i used to go and shop with the food stamps. a lot of folks say that but the way i know, if you been on food

stamps, i ask you what color was your food stamps. because if you don't know the different colors, you're just fronting. but i used to slip the little gray slip so my friends wouldn't know i was on food stamps. but mama told me something i never forgot. she said he may not be there when you want him but he's always on time. the lord will make a way out of no way. i can tell you, 40 years later, he walks with me. he talks with me. he tells me that i am his own. he sends food when i was hungry. water when i was thirsty. he is my rock, my sword and

shield. my will in the middle of the will, he is the lily of the valley. the bright and morning star. he woke me up this morning, started me on my way. yes, yes, yes, yes. ♪ let me say this. we've got to go to the cemetery. let me say this. i saw michael brown senior here, and i thought about, i told him this story. 9/11 happened, congressman green, and we were all fostered in new york. they closed down the bridges.

closed down the streets. closed the trains. i had to walk all the way to my headquarters. when we got there there were people everywhere. cell phones was down and people came down to headquarters to see if we could tell them what was happening, whether we were out of danger. and for the first time since i was a little boy, i started preaching. a bishop said since i was a little boy i'd always had something to say about the first time in my life i couldn't find words to say. and jimmy, i went in my office. i was trying to figure out, what could i say? i thought about this old preacher told me the story he