Family reflects on his legacy at George Floyd’s funeral

HOUSTON — As they gathered to lay George Floyd to rest Tuesday, his extended family from across the country said they hoped the movement that started in the wake of his death would continue.

The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy for Floyd, 46. Inside the sanctuary of the church on the southwest side of Houston, seats were filled with celebrities, including politicians, singers, pro football players and Hollywood stars. Enormous flower hearts and roses lined the halls.

“This is the biggest civil rights movement of our time,” said Floyd’s uncle, Selwyn Jones, as he prepared for the last of three services held over the last few days to honor his nephew’s life. “We have to figure out a way to make a stand.”

Floyd’s brothers Rodney and Philonise “P.J.” Floyd appeared overnight with the family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, at a candlelight vigil on the football fields of Yates High School, where Floyd once played.

“We demand equal justice now for George Floyd!” Crump shouted to applause and cheers from the crowd of several hundred, calling the nearly nine-minute bystander video of Floyd being restrained “a documentary where he narrated his death.”

“We’re going to stop everybody from being afraid of police,” P.J. Floyd said as Houston police officers, including Chief Art Acevedo, milled with the crowd, shaking hands.

“What’s his name?” Floyd shouted, and the crowd roared back: “George Floyd!”

“We’re coming together around the world” to fight police brutality, Rodney Floyd told the gathering. “We’re tired of being treated like a third of a human being.”

Since his nephew’s death last month at the hands of Minneapolis police, Jones, 54, has been appearing at protests near his home in South Dakota. This month, he traveled to attend each of his nephew’s services: first in Minneapolis, then near where Floyd was born in Raeford, N.C., and now in Houston, where he was raised.

Jones and other relatives said they plan to keep working after the funeral not only to prosecute the four police officers charged in Floyd’s death May 25, but also to address police brutality and racism nationwide.

“He cannot die in vain,” Jones said. “I’m not going to let this one go. If we can’t make change now —forget about it.”

Jones’ sister Angela Harrelson, 58, who lives in a Minneapolis suburb and had welcomed her nephew when he moved to the area three years ago, also traveled to Houston to attend the service. She debated with her brother the night before whether to dwell on their outrage or hope. She favored hope.

“You can only stay in the tragedy so long. People want to feel better,” she said.

But Jones said the pain of losing Floyd, a father of three, was still too fresh. “Right now, everybody is in an ache,” he said.

After Tuesday’s service, Jones fears Floyd’s name may be forgotten, lost among a list of black men killed by police. He plans to do all he can to keep the legacy of this moment alive. If he can, he said, his nephew isn’t dead: “He’s immortal.”

Family members react as they view the casket of George Floyd during the private funeral held Tuesday in Houston, Texas. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Getty Images)