US civil rights activist Al Sharpton was to lead a memorial service on Thursday for George Floyd, the African-American man whose harrowing videotaped death while being arrested has unleashed sweeping nationwide protests for racial justice.
“The width of the support and participation in the protests is something unlike we’ve ever seen before,” Sharpton said on MSNBC ahead of the 1:00 pm Central Time (1800 GMT) service. “This is the time that we can make real change.”
Three of the four Minneapolis police officers who arrested Floyd on May 25 for allegedly passing a counterfeit bill were to make their first court appearance, meanwhile, to face charges of aiding and abetting his murder.
The fourth policeman, white officer Derek Chauvin, who was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as he said “I can’t breathe,” has been charged with second-degree murder and appeared before a judge last week.
Democratic Congressman John Lewis, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr to fight segregation, echoed Sharpton’s hope that Floyd’s death and the protests could pave the way for “greater change.”
“This feels and looks so different,” the 80-year-old civil rights icon told “CBS This Morning.” “It is so much more massive and all inclusive.”
Lewis, who was brutally beaten on several occasions during the 1960s civil rights protests, condemned President Donald Trump’s threat to use military force against demonstrators.
“I think it would be a serious mistake on the part of President Trump to use the military to stop orderly, peaceful, nonviolent protests,” Lewis said. “You cannot stop, cannot stop the call of history.”
While condemning Floyd’s death, Trump has adopted a tough stance towards the protesters, saying they include many “bad people” and calling on governors to “dominate the streets.”
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