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CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS, celebrities and politicians gathered in Minneapolis this evening to pay their respects to George Floyd, the man whose death at the hands of police has sparked protests nationwide and calls for an end to racial injustice.
Mourners wore masks and bumped elbows, rather than hug or shake hands, at the memorial taking place in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The memorial at the Frank J Lindquist sanctuary at North Central University was the first service to be held in the next six days across three communities where Floyd was born, grew up and died.
Projected above the pulpit inside the sanctuary was the blue and orange mural that has been painted at the site of a makeshift memorial in the neighbourhood where Floyd pleaded for air on 25 May as a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into the handcuffed black man’s neck for several minutes even after he stopped moving.
The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks at the memorial service for George Floyd. Julio Cortez / AP/Press Association Images
Julio Cortez / AP/Press Association Images / AP/Press Association Images
A small band and choir sang the gospel classic Goin’ Up Yonder as mourners gathered.
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The Rev Jesse Jackson entered and prayed for several moments over Floyd’s golden casket. Others followed his lead, including Minnesota Sen Amy Klobuchar. They greeted each other and spoke for a few minutes, before heading to their seats.
Others in attendance included US Reps Ilhan Omar, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Ayana Pressley and Joyce Beatty; rappers TI, with his wife Tiny, Ludacris, and Tyrese Gibson; comedians Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish; and actress Marsai Martin.
The Rev Al Sharpton was among those who planned to speak, as organisers of the memorials planned to acknowledge the meaning Floyd had in life to his large family and the broader meaning he has assumed in death.
“It would be inadequate if you did not regard the life and love and celebration the family wants,” Sharpton said.
“But it would also be inadequate … if you acted as though we’re at a funeral that happened under natural circumstances.”
“The family is not independent of the community,” he said. “The family wants to see something happen.”
After the first service, Floyd’s body will go to Raeford, North Carolina, the state where he was born 46 years ago, for a two-hour public viewing and private service for the family on Saturday.
Finally, a public viewing will be held Monday in Houston, where he was raised and lived most of his life.
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People gather before the memorial service. Julio Cortez / AP/Press Association Images
Julio Cortez / AP/Press Association Images / AP/Press Association Images
A 500-person service on Tuesday will take place at The Fountain of Praise church and will include addresses from Sharpton, family attorney Ben Crump, and the Rev Remus E Wright, the family pastor.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, may attend, and other political figures and celebrities are expected as well. A private burial will follow.
Due to coronavirus, Fountain of Praise will be limited to 20% of its capacity and visitors will be required to wear masks.
Floyd’s final journey was designed with intention, Sharpton said. Having left Houston for Minneapolis in 2014 in search of a job and a new life, Floyd will retrace that path.
“They collectively said we need to make the first memorial statement from the city he chose to go to make a living, that ended his life,” he said.
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So Dr Anthony Holohan, it’s okay for children to be in school in a full class for five hours with approximately 30 other pupils but it’s not okay to sit down in a restaurant for about an hour with your family for a meal!
@Jimmy Pea: And ok for them to be inside a hotel bar restaurant for hours on end yet a normal bar restaurant is somehow more dangerous to kids. Laughable.
@Paul Furey: Where are your facts Paul?!?! You never have any…… Heres an exert from an article and a link to the article pointing out that Holohan was against face masks for the public initially.
“Dr Holohan and others trotted out a litany of reasons why face masks would be an ineffective measure for the general public.”
@Paul Hedderman: at the time he was following what was public health advice world wide, people really need to build a bridge and stop getting personal about Dr Holohan.
@Jimmy Pea: oh change the record. People say the same thing every single day. Everything doesn’t revolve around sitting in a darned restaurant. Dr Holohan is doing the best he can with the tools he has (pardon the pun lol) and don’t bring up the cervical checks either. That was tragic, absolutely heartbreaking but he didn’t single handedly tell all those women they were fine. Give the man a break for goodness sake.
@GClare: It wasn’t public health advice worldwide at the time, and many countries had implemented masks months before us. In certain countries like Ireland and the US, the government flat out lied to us about mask wearing. That was the Irish public health advice at the time. Blatantly lying to the people of Ireland has consequences for future public health advice, such as this indoor dining charade.
@Jimmy Pea: That statement was the clearest signal of NPHET being allowed to over step their mark repeatedly. Even with the slightest good news story of families being allowed to finally dine together (behind all other countries) they feel the need to put the sword in. Why do anything at all ever?
“The Chief Medical Officer yesterday advised parents that it is safer not to bring children into indoor dining settings.” How was it safe last year when we had no vaccines and the vulnerable weren’t protected with vaccines? But now this year its not safe? What has changed between this year and last year? Has the virus gotten more deadly because globally deaths are nowhere near what they were last year?
Lastly I’d love to know where did he get his information form to come to this conclusion or is it just his opinion which is not based on facts or science?
@David Clements: We have a paradox. How is it safe to go to a pub inside in Newry and not in Dundalk? Its safe for an unvaccinated family to have a meal indoors in a hotel restaurant but not in one with no hotel. If safe all over Europe for unvaccinated kids to have meal with their parents but its unsafe here? The whole of Europe is lifting restrictions, in Ireland we had introducing more restrictions and bigger fines and penalties.
They have lost the public on this. We all saw the football stadiums full of people. Bars and restaurants full of people enjoying themselves. Maybe we have a different strain of Covid here that no one told us about.
@Diarmuid O’Braonáin: Newry is in a different country, different jurisdiction. 48,000 cases in the UK yesterday and 49 deaths. Would you be hedging bets on any UK decision being safe given their disastrous mismanagement of the crisis? I wouldn’t. The rest of Europe is not opening up and relaxing restrictions. They are doing the opposite.
It’s a terrible decision. We should be either following medical evidence which advises against unvaccinated in a crowded indoor setting or advocate personal responsibility and allow people to make their own decisions.
This idea of allowing some unvaccinated indoors but not others based on what happens to be politically convenient at the time is absolutely absurd and leads to a general sense of unfairness and annoyance among the public.
@Rochelle: yes but is there any consideration at all for businesses and workers livelihoods. You’ve left this important variable out. The dilemma is to get businesses open, people in work while trying to protect the health of the general population as best we can. What is your alternative solution that checks those boxes?
If you chose not to get the vaccine I have no sympathy for you. But what’s the difference d
Between an unvaccinated 16 or 17 year old that can go in while a 19 or 20 year old who hasn’t got a vaccine yet can’t?
@Ronan O’Keeffe: trying to make sense of it, good luck with that.
Imagine the people who for reasons of not being able to take the vaccine for medical reasons…
For people who have legitimate concerns about the rushed method in which this was brought out & of its effectiveness against new strains…
For people who were very concerned about a government proposal to spy & inform in your neighbours if they were breaking restrictions ..
A government who has locked up an elderly lady for 3 months for not wearing a mask while in England they are set to announce that masks are no longer required everywhere.
Good luck trying to make sense of this arbitrary discrimanatory legislation from a government who having giving themselves 3 pay raises during Covid & tell us we are all in it together.
@Hear me now: as they deliver more broken promises then run up the stairs without having to take any questions.
& for anyone who questions this mess or doesn’t go along with the general narrative they are mocked… ridiculed…called anti-vaxxers… conspiracy theorists…
Never be afraid to challange the status quo _ always ask questions…do not just nod & accept.
Be good everyone…Hopefully tomorrow will be better than today.
Rant over.
@Ronan O’Keeffe: because we decided – ages ago – that 18 was the start of adulthood. With all the rights and responsibilities and requirements to abide by the rules that come with being an adult.
@EvieXVI: we also decided – ages ago – that discrimination is totally unacceptable and should not be tolerated in any developed, civilised society, but hey-ho here we are.
@Eoin Jackson: that depends on your definition of discrimination. When a decision is made for the common good and a law introduced for the common good then this is not discrimination. The needs of the many outweigh the wants of the few. That’s how society works.
But its ok to bring them into the Hotel Bar and not the Bar up the street.. has Professor Tony giving a Logical difference between a Hotel bar and a bar next door..
This latest ‘concession’ raises more questions.
If asymptomatic children can still pass on the virus as we have been told then surely this latest move by the government is totally irresponsible?
This decision has nothing to do with COVID. Just a weak government looking for brownie points.
@Will: That’s exactly it, it’s a decision made purely for optics. They’ll claim they’re mostly following the health advice but also listening to the public.
In reality this is the worst outcome for the public since the virus will spread more among unvaccinated children and staff in indoor dining and many young people will be prevented from dining indoors.
We need a government with the courage to pick a lane on issues like this.
@Rochelle: what’s the alternative. Those kids are not in school at present and are in a protective bubble at hime with their vaccinated parents. Chances are any socialising they are doing during the height of Summer is outdoors. Simple. It’s a huge conspiracy theory after all.
“we need to trust people” – yeah when it comes to this one specific detail, everything else it’s just lock it down to stop people doing it. Talking out of both sides of his mouth.
Not a chance that will happen. It will be pushed out 2/3 weeks and then it will be decided to wait for a few weeks to allow schools to reopen and then your into October at which time cases will be high (which wont mean anything with majority vaccinated) but it will put off until next year.
@Roisin Lyons: you should ask all the people who were outraged last week at the prospect of not being allowed to dine indoors with their kids who are not eligible to be vaccinated yet. This was a decision based on public pressure
So. I have chosen not to get the vaccine at the moment for my own personal reasons. I have bent over backwards to make sure I complied with all the restrictions since day 1. I am a young healthy person, BUT anyone who caught the virus can avail of this now luxury. You are now being rewarded a license for being covid positive. If I had of known that I’d be out with the masses having raves and pints and drinks with everyone
@Alexandra Molloy: you should be glad that everyone else is getting vaccinated to protect you, and happy enough to eat and drink outdoors for a few weeks or months so that enough people are vaccinated that you won’t need to worry about it
No that you can get a meal and a pint indoors can the government let non essential workers have driving lessons and start getting more driving tests done
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