George Floyd's brothers call for racial justice at Democratic national convention
The brother of George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis police custody in May sparked waves of anti-racism protests across the country, addressed the Democratic national convention on Monday night and called upon American voters to "carry on the fight for justice".
Philonise and Rodney Floyd spoke virtually from Texas during the first night of the convention where former Vice President Joe Biden will be formally named the Democratic presidential nominee in the November election.
"My brother George was selfless," Philonise said, as he led a moment of silence in his brother's memory. "He always made sacrifices for his family, friends, and even complete strangers. 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."
Floyd's brothers also named of other Black people who died at the hands of police officers — including those who "didn't go viral".
"George should be alive today," Philonise Floyd said. "Breonna Taylor should be alive today. Eric Garner should be alive today. Stephon Clark, Atatiana Jefferson, Sandra Bland - they should all be alive today."
"It's up to us to carry on the fight for justice. Our actions will be their legacies. We must always find ourselves in what John Lewis called 'good trouble'. For the names we do not know, the faces we will never see, those who can't mourn, because their murders didn't go viral."
Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, DC, introduced the Floyd family from Black Lives Matter Plaza, the stretch of 16th Street in Washington leading up to the White House that was repainted and renamed in the wake of Floyd's death.
Ms Bowser compared the history of peaceful protest in the nation's capital with President Trump ordering Lafayette Square cleared with tear gas so he could walk to a nearby church to be photographed with a Bible.
"While we were peacefully protesting, Donald Trump was plotting," Ms Bowser said. "I knew if he did this to DC, he would do it to your city or your town, and that's when I said enough."
Mr Trump, meanwhile, has confirmed that two guests he has invited to participate at his convention next week are the white St Louis couple who gained national headlines when they emerged from their house wielding weapons to confront protesters who were in their neighborhood.
