George Floyd family: Black victims of police violence 'should all be alive today'

George Floyd’s family spoke to the nation during Monday’s Democratic National Convention, calling for a moment of silence to honor the many Black Americans killed by police or as a result of racist violence.

“My brother George was selfless,” Philonise Floyd said. “George had a giving spirit. A spirit that has shown up on streets around our nation and around the world. People of all races, all ages, all genders, all backgrounds peacefully protesting in the name of love and unity.”

He called the protests in the wake of his brother’s death and the calls for law enforcement reform a “fitting legacy.”

“…George should be alive today,” Floyd said before listing several other Black Americans killed by police or in racist attacks. “Breonna Taylor should be alive today. Ahmaud Arbery should be alive today. Eric Garner should be alive today. Stephon Clark, or Atatiana Jefferson, Sandra Bland — they should all be alive today.”

At the end of his remarks, Floyd called for a moment of silence “to honor George and the many other souls we lost to hate and injustice.”

George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white police officer earlier this year after the officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. His death sparked nationwide protests against systemic racism and racist police brutality.

Donald Trump repeatedly attacked those protesting, calling them “terrorists” and “thugs” and sending in federal police and the National Guard to crack down violently on the demonstrations. In June, his administration used tear gas against a group of protesters across the street from the White House, in order to clear the way for Trump to hold a photo op at a nearby church.

George Floyd’s family, meanwhile, has continued to speak out in his memory, calling for change and nationwide police reform.

“I couldn’t take care of George the day he was killed, but maybe by speaking with you today, I can help make sure that his death isn’t in vain,” Philonise Floyd said during a congressional hearing in June.

He said he wanted “to make sure that he is more than another face on a T-shirt, more than another name on a list that won’t stop growing.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.