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

changed. i was still -- my watches on the wrong time. it was when time goes forward. if you know congresswoman move your watch. you're going to find yourself an hour late. not because your watch was wrong but you had your watch on the wrong time. well, i come to tell you that sitting in washington talking about militarizing the country thinking you sell tickets to people who had enough abuse, i've come to tell you, you can get on the tv but you're 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 time is

stalled for all of justice. this is the time! we won't stop. we're going to keep going until we change the whole system of justice! our organizations have called this a day of mourning naacp, black women's round table, lord's committee all got together and said we're going to have a day of mourning. then we're going to come out of this day of mourning because as some of our experts that know the legal field and outlined a legal process that we must enforce. everything from residents to dealing with police background and not being hit.

we talked to governor andrew cuomo today in new york. he said we got to change 58 with the backgrounds and stuff of 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? [ applause ] we got to go back to consent decrees. under the obama administration, they put certain cities with patterns and practice under consent decrees. from jamar brown in baltimore they put it under consent decree. one of the first things that happened in the administration, they stopped the consent decrees. we have specific policies that need to happen. therefore, i'm glad martin iii is here today. on august 28th, the 57th anniversary of the march on washington, we're going back to

washington, martin. that's where your father stood in the shadows of the lincoln memorial and said i have a dream. we're going back this 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. 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 lincoln and tell them this is the time to stop this. we, martin and i talked about this, i asked them to get the

faith leaders together. i talked to randy about the labor leaders. oh, no, we're going to organize in the next couple of months in every region. not only for a march but for a new process. it's going to be lead by the floyd family. it's going to be lead by the garner family. it's going to be lead 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 is going to be in the white house but the state house and the city councils that allow these policing measures to go unquestioned. we are going to change the tide. let me say this to the family who has shown such great grace

and real level and balance. thank you. that's why i want them to help lead this and i want -- one of the greatest thinkers of our time. dr. eric michael dyson. we need to break down. y'all want to know what time is. y'all are operating like it's yesterday. and the reason y'all late catching up to what these protest means is because you didn't turn your clock forward. talk about make america great. great for who and great when? we're going to make america great for everybody for the first time. [ applause ] never was great for blacks. never was great for latinos. it wasn't ever great for others. it wasn't great for women. your women had to march to get the right to vote.

but lastly is the 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 called for his momma. i said to attorney crump, i said i appreciate -- but i want to talk to his mother. he said his mother passed. i said his mother passed? but he was calling for his mother. and i thought about it, because i was raised by a single mother. sometimes the only thing between us and our conditions was our mothers. sometimes the only thing that we had that would take danger away was our mothers. the only ones that would make

sure that food was on the table was our mother. i know why george was calling for momma. but then as i had got that all placed in my mind and i realized why i was always calling to -- my mother died eight years ago but i still try to talk to her. sometimes just dial the cell phone to hear the voice mail of the phone they never cut off. i still want to reach out to momma, but talking to quincy last night, one of his five children, quincy said, you know, 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 will welcome you where the wicked will cease from troubling. where the weary will be at rest. the place where police don't put

knees on you, george. there's a place that prosecutors don't drag their feet. maybe momma said come on, george. there's a god that still sits high but he looks down low and he'll make a way out of no way. this god is still on the throne. the reason we can fight -- i don't care who is in the white house. there's another house that said if we'll fight, he'll fight our battles. if we stand up, he'll hold us up. so as we leave here today, i say to his family i know that years ago we -- then i know that president obama wrote a book about hope. but i want you to know in my life there's times that i lost hope.

things can happen like this that will dash your hope. as something that is sister to hope called faith. faith is the substance of things. hope for. the evidence of things unseen. faith is when you got a pile of bills and no money, but you say he will provide all of my needs. faith is when you got no medicine in the cabinet and you're sick in your body we you say he's a doctor that never lost a patient. and he'll pry tears from my eyes. faith is when your friends walk out. when your loved ones turn their back but you say i don't believe he brought me this far to leave me now. we didn't come this far by luck. we didn't come this far by some faith. we come this far by faith!

leaning on the lord. trusting in his holy word. he never -- he never -- he never failed me yet! from the outhouse to the white house! we come a long way. god will -- god shall -- god will -- god always has. he'll make a way for his children! go on home, george! get your rest, george! you changed the world, george! we going to keep marching, george! we're going to keep fighting, george! we're going forward, george! timeout! timeout! timeout. ♪

♪ we ask the gospel -- sing a song for the family. after which derek johnson of the naacp asked me, attorney crump, we're going to stand for eight minutes and 46 seconds. 8:46. that was the time that george was on the ground. we want you all over the world to stand with us for eight minutes and 46 seconds and make that commitment for justice in the name of george. i want to thank the members of the congressional black caucus -- [ applause ] -- for being with us. won't you stand.

[ applause ] i want to thank the son dr. martin luther king iii for being with us. [applause] i want to thank the mayor and the governor and their bride for being with the family. [ applause ] senator amy klobuchar of the state of minnesota. i want to thank our mentor who fought this fight for more than half a century. dr. reverend lewis jesse jackson is with us and his spokesman for rainbow. jonathan luther jackson.

i want to thank -- i want to thank from the entertainment world kevin hart. he told me don't mention he's here so don't clap. stand up, kevin. we joke with each other. [ applause ] brother beloved. stand up, brother. brother ludicrous. ty reese gibson. an extraordinary activist in his own right. master p. the one and only the creative genius will packard is with us today. and a brother we've marched together and have done a lot of things.

he does not just put his name on somebody's petition. he puts his body on the line. brother t.i. is in the house. [ applause ] i want these brothers -- one of the greatest gospel singers alive -- is tiffany here? oh, wait a minute! wait a minute! i didn't want to announce it and say -- let me tell you something, one of the most popular, outstanding artists that is also committed. i've read her interview. she thinks i'm old and don't read stuff but i do. she's been committed and saying the right things and she wanted to be here today and i was so busy joking with kevin i didn't even look at her. let us welcome our sister beloved sister tiffany had dish is in the house.

[ applause ] well i want to -- y'all don't start introducing folk. i got them all. let us hear a selection. >> let's have some church for awhile. y'all ready to have some church? i came all the way from brooklyn, new york to do this for george and the family. this goes out to y'all. let's do it. come on. stand to our feet. everybody come on. come on! put your hands together! come on! come on! come on! come on! ♪ come on! ♪

♪ every praise, every praise, every praise is to our god ♪ ♪ sing hallelujah. sing hallelujah to our god. glory hallelujah is due our god every praise is to our god ♪ ♪ let's take it up! come on ♪ ♪ every day is to our god put your hands together every praise every praise every praise is to our god ♪ ♪ look at your neighborhood and sing hallelujah sing hallelujah to our god. glory hallelujah

to our god ♪ ♪ come on every praise every praise every praise is is to our god ♪ come on, all people. ♪ ♪ every praise is to our god every one of worship with one accord every praise every praise is to our god ♪ ♪ you feel it! sing hallelujah! ♪ ♪ sing hallelujah to our god sing hallelujah to our god glory hallelujah is to our god. every praise every praise every praise is to our god to our god ♪ ♪ this is my favorite part here. come on! ♪ god my savior god my healer

god my deliverer yes he is yes he is ♪ ♪ you say it now! ♪ god my savior god my healer god my deliverer yes he is yes he is ♪ ♪ yes he is yes he is ♪ ♪ god my savior god my healer god my deliverer ♪ ♪ yes he is yes he is yes he is yes he is yes he is ♪ ♪ every praise is to my god every word of worship with one accord ♪ ♪ every praise

every praise every praise every praise every praise every praise every praise ♪ ♪ every praise every praise if you see me dancing every praise every praise ♪ ♪ you see me shouting every praise every praise every praise every praise every praise every praise ♪ ♪ every praise is to our god ♪ as we remain standing, on the

record now is collide bellcourt of the american indian movement. [ applause ] brother, we are mohonored you came. thank you. let me say the chairman of the naacp and many of black lives matter, many of the grassroots organizations that have been doing the pro tests on the ground in minneapolis and around the country. movements are about everybody. we don't exclude anybody. those young folks, some of them organic, some orgd anized on thr own, some national a, network. we need everybody. this is not a competition. this is a movement! we need to stop our competing and start fighting the real enemy. thank you for doing what y'all are doing.

when i got here, they were marching and they kept marching. they didn't need nobody to come organize. they organized. we're going to stay organized. i really thank them for their work. we want to pause for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. i want you -- because of the pandemic, i'm not going to ask you to take hands, but i want you to stand next to someone with the right distance. the amazing thing about this movement, people said they never see marches all over the country. well we had that but never in a pandemic. the reason i know this is a different time is people came out by the hundreds of thousands at risk of their own health to stand up. people that have been sheltered in broke out of shelter.

first flight to come out here in many weeks and maybe in god's own way, martin, in fact, we were sheltered means we could nt watch sports or nothing we had to watch the tape. maybe because we had no distractions that finally we're ready to deal with this. so as we stand, i would like us to stand together and i think there's only one woman up here. i want -- tiffany said i was disrespectful. will you come stand with us up here, tiffany haddish. so you won't be talking about me in your next interview. and i would like the mother of eric garner, whose is mother of the one who originally died in police custody said "i can't breathe" to stand with me and ben crump on stage.

let us stand. somebody said, reverend, eight minutes is a long time. it meant it was long enough for the police to understand what it was doing. it meant it was long enough for one of the three cops to stop what was going on. it means it was long enough for whatever this officer had in mind for him to rethink. as you go through these long eight minutes, think about what george was going through laying there for those eight minutes. begging for his life. i heard someone say narrating his own death. we can't let this go. we can't keep living like this. sam jackson -- is sam still here? steve jackson? is he here? steve, we will recognize -- i

was recognizing everybody. we got to stop this here. we got to end this time bring about a new season. let us stand still. bow your heads or whichever way you worship.

that's a long time. if we've calculated what the clock here -- that was how long he was laying there. there's no excuse. they had enough time. they had enough time. now with the time we have, as we usher the family out, let them go out first. they have to prepare to go to north carolina and then back to where we'll do the final services. they appreciate you all for coming. let us -- everybody else be seated but the family. reverend brian, will you come

quickly and give us a benediction. just a benediction. we're going take the family out. everyone else remain in your seats. ♪ you will remain where you are for the benediction. good and gracious god, merciful master, walk with us while we run this race. speak to us as we lift our voice. use our hands so they do not become fists. change our hearts so that -- shift to rehabilitation. connect the country so it can finally be the land of the free and the home of the brave. we pray this prayer in the name of an innocent black man by the name of jesus who was killed by our government and still rose again. and with that power we march on

until victory is won. ♪ i'm asking everyone to be seated except the family. please, everyone, please be seated except the family. let's please, everyone, please remain in your seat. as we escort this family out. thank you so much. please, please. we need everyone to remain seated. ♪

come on. please remain seated for a minute until we escort the family out. thank you so much for your cooperation. thank you so much. ♪ ♪ please let the family exit the building. thank you. >> the family has gone and i

think that's accurate after this emotional service. umm, we've been watching with some friends of ours and i would like to bring them in one after another. starting with joy reid. >> the big family is an archetype of the black family of who take in those that need to go. it was a wonderful eulogy by our good friend, the reverend al sharpton. i was reading and looking up, you know, in 1963, not a month after the march on washington, gave people so much hope, a group of clansmen bombed the 16th street baptist church in alabama and dr. king funeralized the three girls. what he said in the brief years they were privileged to act on this mortal stage, they played

their parts exceedingly well. and i think george floyd has played his part exceedingly well. he will be a name that will be remembered for what i hope and pray will finally be real movement toward police reform. we desperately need it. deracializing policing. making sure that black men, women, and children are policed as human beings and not treated as animals or subhumans. this man should still be here. that's how reverend started his eulogy. he should still be alive. it's shameful he's not alive but what a beautiful service. >> professor eddy. >> a powerful service. beautiful. our prayers are with the family and with all of those who came

to share their grief and love for him. i'm struck by the juxtaposition between the cruelty that we saw for 8 minutes, 46 seconds. the inhumanity we saw. and the beauty of that holy hush. the holy hush for 8 minutes, 46 seconds, so we can confront the body in the coffin and deal with death and see what it might mean for us in life. for us to examine who we will be after this. a beautiful, beautiful sermon. >> maya wily, there are few things more powerful than the passage of time, in this case, 8 minutes and 46 seconds. the time it took for life to

drain out of this man. >> attorney ben crump opened the service reminding us that what george floyd experienced was torture. was torture. as we have seen, this service, this memorial, closed by asking us all not just those who were in the space of the service but all of us just to stand for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. that's all it takes to understand exactly what reverend al sharpton said, which was there is no other way to have your knee on a man's neck for that length of time except for torture. and, you know, one of the things that was so powerful for me that i just want to lift up, because

the reverend, in his eulogy, reminded us this justice is about the metaphor of the knee of the nation on the neck of the people. if we are to meet this moment, we should remember the words of "amazing grace" that was powerfully sung at the beginning of this memorial -- of this funeral. "amazing grace" was written by a man who had been a slave trader. the words of the song are powerful because it was about his conversion. not just his conversion in christianity, all though his faith in god is part of that, but his conversion on slavery. his becoming an abolitionist was blind but now i see. and the power of that in the context of a video that this entire nation has seen and the

call to all of us to not let it be in vain. to make it something that demands, as joy reminded us at the beginning, to demand of our leaders that this aspiration of a more perfect union requires the fact that george floyd not just be memorialized but that there is never and no longer any difference in how any of us are treated. no more knees on the neck. >> and the minutes before we hand it over to nicole wallace for our continuing coverage, we're also joined by the celebrated writer and journalist from "the new yorker" jelani cobb. your view on what we just witnessed. >> i mean, brian, i don't want to have been witness to this.

i don't think any of us do. we have now a body. i was watching this and i was thinking about the eulogy the late elijah cummings delivered for freddie gray and i was thinking about the memorials of eric garner and thinking about the words that were written in the mourning that happened in the wake of castillo's death. it's impossible to see this. this is not a funeral for george floyd or not solely. this is is a funeral for a particular kind of hope that it would not happen again. that we would not be called together to mourn another person

who died at the hands -- this is is a collective right of mourning. and when al sharpton -- there were no truer words than what al sharpton said to what happened to mr. floyd has been has be been -- happening to black people for 401 years. until we can sit with that horrific reality and the truth that represents, we don't stand a chance of ever moving past this moment. this reenactment. this failure of american promise. this indictment of our very beloved. >> joy reid, it was fascinating as we were reminded during the latter half of the service, the

crowds in george floyd's name that have gathered at this hour again today. places like washington, places like new york was particularly emotional to see the silent crowd at the feet of the reverend dr. martin luther king jr. memorial in washington. it was, at times, intimate. we got to hear the story of george floyd. the story of the floyd family. the story of an american family. of a mom doing her best of multiple kids. what it was like to be his brother. what it was like to be his nephew. describing him as such a commanding presence. it was good to be able to laugh for a moment at what some people will forever find, the unholy alliance of bananas and mayonnaise on a piece of bread. but here is this man who has

changed american life in the days since his passing. the question for you, joy, is that will this change american life forever? >> that i do not know, brian. but i have to say, what a victory over the blight of enslavement that principally taught to dehumanize black bodies and black people, but also to rip apart the family, too. to take away family. to take away lineage. to take away connection. but these big families, these wonderful extended families where it's blood relatives but also just people who need to be there -- what a victory over the demonic past of enslavement. i have to say that. so i loved that part of the

service where they talked about their family. what happens from here? i think we have a few challenges. one of them are that you have police unions that are incredibly powerful that will push back. they won't easily accept -- we saw in places like atlanta where there's a rule you're supposed to have a body camera and people don't use them. there's an attitude we're seeing on the streets where people are protesting from police. an us versus them that has to be walked back. and my god brother was a police officer. i have friends that will tell you it's leadership plus recruitment. it's who you put in the body. there are great, wonderful police officers. because they're great and wonderful people and people who probably shouldn't have is a badge and a gun and they get recruited together. then it's a matter of leadership. it's a matter of, you know, as reverend sharpton said in his eulogy, why can you have a long jacket of offenses against civilians and still be a police

officer? go from town to town. how did the man who bore his entire weight on this big man to crush him. to crush the wind out of him. think about how much pressure you would have to put on a big man to do that to do that to george floyd. he was a police officer having offended more than a dozen times. 16, 17, 18, 19. why was he allowed to be a police officer? we need fundamental change. we need demilitarization. we need to operate the prosecutor from the police when it comes to investigating police wrong doing. we need what we had with keith ellison, a separate person who is not, you know, buddies and pals with the officers they have to investigate to investigate. we need to change the way we fund these police departments and fund community more and less militarization and less money pored into controlling black human beings as if they are cattle on a ranch. that all has to be done.

we need legislators that are willing to do it. so i'm hoping and praying that at the state level, we can get it done and at the federal level, we have fundamental change in, for instance, who runs the united states senate. because i'll say one last thing, while we were watching this wonderful service, we had rand paul lecturing black united states senators about what lynching is. lecturing kamala harris and cory booker about their lynching legislation. there's a lot of hard heartedness in this country and isn't going to change because of this funeral. and it isn't going to change at all. so it has to be removed from power. that's when the people need to turn to now. remove from power those who do not value all of these lives being wasted. you don't value black life, you should not be legislating black people. period. >> george floyd's body about to

be carried away from the auditorium. miles to go before his final rest, at least two more public events. i want to thank the members of our family who have been with us for our coverage. we could not and would not have wanted to have this conversation without joy reid, without professor eddy, without maya wily, without jelani cobb, and i agree with joy. i hope people pay as much attention to the personal part, the family part of today as they do to the words of our coworker reverend al sharpton. an emotional day already. as we say, the death of george floyd has transformed america's streets all the days since we learned of the news. at this point, turn it over to

our friend and colleague nicole wallace for today's abbreviated version of "deadline white house." nicole? >> thank you, brian. your coverage has been remarkable and everything that joy said, a lot of that was embodied in the words of george floyd's brother even in his grief and pain stood at the site. we'll go there in a second to hear from gabe gutierrez and called for a lot of what george talked about. called for people to vote. to get educated on where people stand on these issues. all the messages coming at us in one single day. thank you for your coverage of that. we'll go to gabe gutierrez who is at the site of george floyd's fatal encounter with police. gabe? >> reporter: hey, nicole. listen to the very emotional service over a loud speaker.

i can tell you, it was incredible to see all the cheers during reverend al's powerful eulogy where he often repeated that phrase "get off our necks." that powerful phrase that really brought tears to the crowd. now this is the location, as you mentioned, where george floyd uttered his last breath. nicole, we have been standing with people here -- several of them on msnbc yesterday and the reaction to what happened the last couple of days have been mixed. there are others who say it's not enough. a man in south minneapolis earlier today broke into tears when he came here for the first time. right now there's a chant erupting here. "what's his name?" and they're repeating george floyd. the crowd passionately reacting to this service. i should mention that at the

same time the memorial service was happening, the three officers face adjudge earlier this afternoon in minneapolis. we heard from their attorneys for the first time. they were read their charges and the judge gave them bond. the focus today here and at the memorial service is the life of george floyd. 46 years old. the place here where his son -- >> gabe -- >> reporter: paid his last respects yesterday. yes, nicole? >> 24 hours ago, you brought us zoe schafer. someone who left an indelible mark on brian and myself and you did a remarkable interview with her. she said it's not enough. is that still the feeling or is there some catharsis 24 hours after those additional charges? the upgraded charges against derrick chauvin and the charges against the three other police officers and maybe some of the release and the sharing of the

grief at this service today. is that still something you're hearing that it's not enough? >> well, all of that is true. both it's not enough and there is quite a bit of catharsis here and relief. a lot of people we've been speaking with here, nicole, they're surprised these upgraded charges took so long. when that finally happened yesterday, even though the floyd family had been asking for first-degree murder, they took it as an acknowledgment they finally had been heard. as you heard zoey schafer say yesterday, it's not enough. they view it as a first step. i think with reverend al calling for the march on washington in august, there's a sense it's not over but it is is a significant first step. and, nicole, i can tell you even in the last few days since i've been here more than a week now, there has been such a huge shift in tone from anger and the outrage and the looting and the burning that we saw last week in minneapolis. it is now a more somber stone.

a celebratory tone. a tone that honors the life of 46-year-old george floyd and looks to the future as you heard reverend al in the eulogy talk about a call to action for accountability and criminal justice reform. nicole? >> gabe, is there any sense of what they've accomplished? they've rallied former presidents to their cause. they've got the current president on his heels literally hiding out in the basement of his own white house. is there a sense -- is there an awareness or are they so focussed on the one man, the one family and what he went through? >> reporter: they realize it's much bigger, nicole. a couple of days ago, you know, we've been hearing the news over the last couple of days, for example, opening a sleeping civil rights investigation into the minneapolis police department. the first of its kind. taking close look at ten years of that department and opening up wounds that were never quite forgotten. the case is that people here in

minneapolis had to deal with over the last several years. yes, they do -- starting to get a sense of how thuj is. look at the pictures from not just around the country but around the world. people around the globe taking a look at this man's life. and for some here, it is still starting to sink in. some of the residents in this south minneapolis neighborhood, you know, they're starting to realize, you know, and starting to feel heard. that's something we heard over and over again. today, yesterday, after the charges, it was just a feeling of being heard. a frustration that is building for so many years that they have protested. they didn't feel they had been heard. now they do. and it's been incredible to witness. you saw it yesterday with zoe schafer when we talked to her. she was brought to tears by what happened. she repeats it's just not enough. i think it's something that, you know, yes, there's a sense it's not enough. but there is also a sense that

much has been accomplished here, nicole. >> gabe gutierrez in minneapolis for us, thank you so much. i want to bring in my colleague and partner in ordinary times and in these extraordinary times. eddy, i know there's so much and so of us calling on you for your thoughts. i want to ask you to come back to something you said to brian williams about a polholy hush. i worked in the white house on 9/11 and the silence with which the moment of the towers were hit. the time between the first tower being hit and the second tower being hit was the way that the democratic presence and -- the presidents commemorated the anniversary for 9/11 for more than a decade. i wonder if you think what you call the holy hush will become something that endures. something that goes on after we're sitting and talking about

this around the clock. >> i'm not sure, nicole. i really am not sure. i do know that this particular holy hush is happening in the context of everything stopping. covid-19 has kind of gummed up everything. right. so we're all being still. we're sheltering in place. we have to kind of deal with our own grief alone. we have to be with our families. where businesses isn't fuc functioning where it used to. there's a holy hush upon the land but in some ways, it requires us to look inward. then this happens. you know, it threw me back to james baldwin really quickly, 1963 -- >> please. >> and baldwin was talking about america as a death dodging civilization. how we would avoid the reality of death, which is grand corrector of futuristic dreams.

we would avoid it by talking about money and he said no. in fact, rejoice in death by deciding to earn one's death by embracing with passion the conundrum of life. as we look at the body in the coffin, nicole, what does george floyd's death convict us to do in life? we have to earn the death by embracing with passion the con nondr conundrum of life. it gives us the opportunity to -- i hope the country is mature enough, all though our history suggests we're not, to take advantage of the time so we can step in tune with the tide and the season as reverend sharpton said.

>> i have one more for you, eddie. i want to tell our viewers, while we were listening to eddy, we had a image of minneapolis police and fire departments taking a knee in honor and solidarity with the protesters. you raised this idea we're all home. that we're all home sheltering from another killer, the coronavirus pandemic. i want to ask you because i keep thinking about this. the protesters have more on the line than their safety to be out there protesting in some cities in violation of curfews. they have their very health and lives and the health and lives of the people they come home to at the end of the day. that seems to add something to all this. can you talk about that? >> yeah. you're right. but, you know, we've been risking our lives for freedom ever since you brought us here.

risking our lives to be free? to run away from plantations. >> i don't have an answer for that -- is there something else -- >> to have some dignity. risking our lives to say you can't call me boy or call me aunty. risking our lives to tell a police officer you can't talk to me like that. don't put your hands on me like that. we've been risking our lives since we were brought here. so the fact that my baby is choosing to risk his life in 2020 is part of this wrong tradition of the burden we've had to bear because america refuses to live up to its ideals. because america refuses to believe it's not a white nation in the vain. because america refuses to step into its historic role, if it only would do so to be the first

multiracial democracy in the history of the modern world. >> eddie, i have to hit you with one more. for you today in this moment more tired or more hopeful? >> i'm both. >> i hear it. >> yeah. i kept thinking about thomas dorsey's "precious lord." precious lord, take my hand. lead me on. let me stand. i'm tired. i'm weak. i'm worn. you know, lead me home. and then i'm hopeful, you know, every moment of christ is every moment of inflection point as we're in also offers a moment of possibility. so, you know, as i said to

brian, wherever human beings are, we have a chance. we have to recognize, though, we're miracles and we're -- all at once. but wherever we are we have a chance. >> you're a miracle. i'm grateful to have you as my colleague and friend here. and i hear everything you're saying in your voice. thank you so much for being part of our coverage. we're going it keep an eye on all of this and everything that is happening in minneapolis and around the country. people remembering and doing their best to honor the life of george floyd. but, also, demanding change. they're not the only ones. a stunning display of descend and a stunning cascade of high-level rebukes from leaders past and present at the highest ranks of our government, highest ranks of our military who say the only way to protect our democracy is with change. we'll bring you those stories next. acy is with anchge we'll bring you those stories next wayfair has way more ways to renovate your home,

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sprinting past every leak in our softest, smoothest fabric. she's confident, protected, her strength respected. depend. the only thing stronger than us, is you. this hour the swell of demonstrations all across the country continues to honor the life and legacy of george floyd and the fight for justice in his name. the endurance of this uprising, a tenth straight day, where thousands upon thousands have gathered is sending a message of defiance against a president bent on a show of aggressive force. today their descent is buoyed by an extraordinary show of support from some of the nation's most

prominent military leaders. an unprecedented rebuke of trump's response to the outcry even his legacy as president from james mattis breaking months of silence since his resignation. it reads in part, quote, "donald trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the american people. does not even pretend to try. instead, he tries to divide us. we're witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. we're witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership." in his statement, mattis shares his reaction to the incident that sparked outrage from so many. the clearing of peaceful protesters to make way for donald trump's photo op in front of a church, mattis writes this, quote, "when i joined the military 50 years ago, i swore and oath to defend the constitution. never did i dream troops taking

that oath would be ordered to violate the constitutional rights of their fellow citizens. much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander in chief with military leadership standing alongside." the alarm of james mattis has extraordinary criticism of the president and whose pleasure he once served, joins of chorus of other veterans of military leaders. james miller who served under trump resigned over the same photo incident and criticized current defense secretary mark es es esper for his come polifor his . and john allen commanded american forces in afghanistan warns that trump's actions in recent days, quote, "may well signal the beginnings of the end of the american experiment"

unless the american people act for change now. joining our conversation, national investigative reporter for the "washington post" karl lennock, general mccaffrey, and rick stangel. general mccaffrey, i'm coming to you. secretary mattis finally speaking out. your thoughts? >> look, mattis has an unusual place in the armed forces. he's widely respected particularly in the army and marine corps.. we have tremendous confidence in his integrity. he's an intellectual. he's a fighter. i think his statement was appropriate. it was timely. it was important. now he's being joined by former chairman mike mullen and others. look, we're dealing with a lawless president. he's unraveling. he's impulsive. he doesn't respect the constitution. he's getting us in dangerous

ground. secretary esper wavered on us there. i think he's walked it back but there's only two civilians who give orders to the armed forces. mr. trump and secretary esper. we're in trouble. >> he wavered on us is such a powerful gut punch but that's exactly what happened. general, i want to read you another line from secretary mattis' statement and this one about knocked me over. "instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the normandy invasion reminded soldiers that the nazi slogan for destroying us was "divide and conquer." our american answer is "in union there is strength." we must summon this unity confideto surmount this crisis-confident

that we are better than our politics." he knows what he's saying. he's an intellectual. it seems intentional and deliberate. >> sure. at the end of the day, that's the touch stone, the meter by which we measure actions. the nazi regime. i think it's probably overstated. we sill have strong institutions. we still have the free media. we have the court system. congress is sort of, you know, chaotic and not responding but ultimately we have the voters. one of the things i caution people, nicole, is don't ask the generals and admirals to deal with trump. have these other civilian institutions come aboard. most of which have. we want the military to stay out of politics. >> carol, i think the military would like to -- i think it's donald trump who keeps drawing

them in by calling them "my generals" by asking them to do unprecedented things with migrants to this country. getting them involved when he was -- he still is -- caging migrants, including children at the border. there have been just a crush of extraordinary statements. this handwritten note from general miller reminding the military of their oath. handle written note said, quote, "we've committed our lives to the idea that is america. we will stay true to that oath and the american people." why do you think he had to issue that reminder this week? >> i think it's pretty clear from anybody watching the television coverage of the events of monday that both secretary esper and chairman milley look complicit.

they look like they're tools in an advertisement for the president's re-election. it's part of what made secretary -- former secretary mattis so upset. to see the military pulled alongside in this scene. to see those military police markings and as canisters of smoke and various kinds of chemical gas were tossed at clergy members and young people. people in our city, people who don't -- that remark that milley made seems to be reminding people that, hey, i care about the constitution, too, now that i don't look so good. >> i mean, you use the right word. they look complicit. they were complicit. secretary esper had to walk back the idea they at any time kndid they were going. i'm told by former senior

pentagon official he could have changed his clothes in two minutes, if he wanted to. they knew what they were doing and they knew how it would look. so i'm reluctant to lift them up too high after going along with something that is a low point of the entire history of the american presidency. >> 100% on that one, nicole. and i think mattis would join you. it's part of the reason he wrote what he wrote. how can this be happening? how can a president who wants to divide us be able to convince both the military and the civilian control of the defense department to come out, again, for basically what is an ad. remember, that the president's allies and his campaign were tweeting the imagery of him, you know, so bravely walking across lafayette square and the front lawn of the white house. that was all about hollywood optics and nothing about being a

lover of protesters and a person who cares about the constitution nor about the safety of others. >> and, rick, the "washington post" had an unbelievable budding on reporting of this this week. one of the stories that sticks my brain is greg miller's report about former current intelligence officials. worrying what it looks like it. it looks like an autocratic state perhaps just before its collapse. your thoughts? yeah. donald trump is catastrophic for our public diplomacy, his handling of covid-19. his reaction to the floyd murder is catastrophic. it's terrible there are imagery around the world is worse than it's ever been. the low point before this was the invasion of iraq. and we will recover from it, i

hope. it goes against everything that we preach including, by the way, to note what general mccaffrey said, civilian control of the military. our soldiers take an oath to preserve and defend the constitution of the united states. i was looking at the oath that our greatest democratic ally, the soldiers in the uk take. they take an oath to preserve and protect the queen and her e descendants. this democratic control of the military was a new thing that the founders created. something we preach around the world. to see president trump abuse his authority, which is i think the thing that triggered general mattis dw mattis -- to abuse his authority to u.s. u.s. troops to create a photo op for himself is something we've never seen before. but i would be careful, and note general mccaffrey's caution about this, we can expect the

military to do what civic institutions need to to to overcome the rule of donald trump. in a way, that's the same thing that we're criticizing him for, for abusing and using the mill fair for his own political purposes. we have to be careful and do it ourselves. >> i want to ask you, rick, what happens to people. there have been some great reporting in the "washington post" and the new york thymes that the idea for the walk was ivanka trumps and it was a press operation. but whoopee goldberg would say there was a bunch of grown men who took the long short walk. i don't know what you want to call it with donald trump. one a former member of congress. now a chief of staff. senior leaders of our military, including secretary of defense, chairman of the joint chiefs, rod rosen steseen was changing story once again on whether or not he offered to wear a wire.

what happens to grown men in the face of the most corrupt and the most immoral person ever to lead our country? people who know better >>well, it reminded me of the old saying attributed to many people, who dictatorship comes to america, it will be with a bible wrapped in a flag. i don't know what allows people to do that. i also know the terrible pressure that people are under. i've worked in government, you've worked in government, nicolle, and i just don't understand why more people haven't refused to do that, refused to take that walk. that's why i'm heartened by what we've seen in the last few days from general mattis and particularly the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. because that is their version of civil disobedience. they cannot say no to an order from the commander in chief, but

they can say it's an abuse of his authority. >> thank you so much for spending some time with us on just such an extraordinary day of news. we're going to sneak in a quick break. we'll be right back. mornings were made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis. when considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz xr, a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis or active psoriatic arthritis for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. it can reduce pain, swelling, and significantly improve physical function. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb; don't start xeljanz if you have an infection. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra can increase risk of death. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. as have tears in the stomach or intestines,

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puberty means personal space. so sports clothes sit around growing odors. that's why we graduated to tide pods sport. finally something more powerful than the funk. tide sport removes even week-old sweat odor. it's got to be tide. the reason why we are marching all over the world is we were like george. we couldn't breathe. not because there was something wrong with our lungs, but that you wouldn't take our knee off our neck. we don't want no favors. just get up off of us and we can be and do whatever we can be. we are joined by our friend, former congresswoman donna edwards. donna, i don't know that there

are very many events in american politics anymore that make us sit still and stare at the most painful parts of who we are as a people, as a country, as the last nine days. but your thoughts on the service and where we go from here? >> yeah, i think, you know, it was actually difficult for me to come on air today. i mean, i listened to the eulogy and to the service and i thought of george floyd as i have over this last nine days as, you know, my son and my brother and my partner and my neighbor. and it's exhausting, it's tiring. and i think that i struggled this week with my son out on the streets of washington, d.c., protesting, you know, with his neighbors, and i worried for him on covid, but i worried for him even more for being out there with what has become a mi

militaryized over-policed dc. i hope that this is a moment. i hope this is a place where we can put a pin on this moment with george floyd in history as a time that the united states is going to change, not just our policing, but also the disparities that we see that are born of 401 years from enslavement to now, the treatment of black and brown people. and as a mother, nicolle, i am exhausted and i am tired, but i'm not interesting to give up the hope and the fight. and today when the service began with psa lms 27, it's something that for those of us that are churchgoers that we know very well and david calling out that even he is not going to be

beaten down by his enemies because he has the salvation of the lord, and so that's my hope, nicolle. but this has been the most difficult time. but you know what? if we want change, it has to be difficult. >> what does tomorrow look like, donna? >> i hope it doesn't look like a closed book, that really to honor george floyd and ahmad arbery and brianna taylor and tamir rice and the long list, that it doesn't look like a closed book. that we say that there are things, there are real things that can be done on a policy level, that can be done tomorrow by district attorneys and states attorneys and prosecutors and mayors and governors. there are things that congress

can and should do. and that should be the legacy that we leave from this moment today, that we're not going to let up on them until there's real change that comes about. and so i still want to see people on the streets and in communities challenging their policymakers and lawmakers to make real on the promise of today, to make real on george floyd's legacy. and i believe that there's a real possibility that can happen, nicolle, but not without us continuing to fight. and i do feel like reverend al, get your knee off my neck. >> donna, you move me so much all the time, especially today. we have pictures up of a large crowd moving across the brooklyn bridge. how do we work together, as

obviously i'm a former republican. but all mothers feel this, all parents feel this. eddie talked about worrying about his son, michael steele talked about worrying about his son. obviously the worries that parents feel for their black sons are different. the country has not come close to making my worries the same as your worries. that's the ugly truth. how do we change that once and for all? >> no, but you nknow, when my sn was sending pictures to me from on the streets of washington, d.c. and sending pictures of a crowd that was so multiracial and it was so multigenerational and that to me represents the prospect for change. it's these amazing young people who are willing to stand up and really to demand no peace, no justice. and so it actually gives me

hope, even as my adult self recognizing the 60 plus years of my own history, that change is difficult. i still believe it's possible. >> and your son deserves it. all of our children deserve it. and thank you for coming on. i know these are difficult days. i can only imagine. we're really lucky to have your voirks thoug voice, though, on this day. thank you for spending some time with us. thanks, donna. and thank you for letting us into your homes once again on an extraordinary and difficult day. it means a lot to all of us. our coverage continues with chuck todd right now.