By Vandana Rambaran | Fox News
George Floyd — whose death sparked national outrage after he died in police custody after an office kneeled on his neck for over eight minutes — will be buried in Houston in a private ceremony on Tuesday.
Floyd, 46, will be laid to rest next to his mother in the suburb of Pearland after six days of mourning and memorial services spanning several cities, including Minneapolis and North Carolina.
Since his death on Memorial Day, thousands of people have flocked to the streets around the nation demanding the officers involved be brought to justice, and calling for sweeping police reforms to prevent the use of excessive force, that activists say are predominantly targeted toward blacks and Hispanics.
Floyd’s funeral service is being held at the Fountain of Praise Church in Houston. About 500 guests invited by the Floyd family– including a number of activists, celebrities and politicians, are expected to attend, CBS Houston affiliate KHOU reported.
Rev. Al Sharpton enters the church for the funeral for George Floyd on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, at The Fountain of Praise church in Houston. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool)
The service is expected to last two hours and will include scripture readings, video montages, speeches, signing, and more. The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy.
Former Vice President Joe Biden shared a pre-recorded video message at Tuesday’s funeral service encouraging Floyd’s family to take on the “burden” of his death as “your purpose to change the world for better.”
Biden appealed to Floyd’s two children– his six-year-old daughter Gianna and 27-year-old son Quincy Mason– and his grandchild, extending his sympathies and condolences.
“I know you miss your dad and granddad,” Biden said, eliciting applause. “Little Gianna, as I said to you when I saw you yesterday, you’re so brave. Daddy’s looking down, he’s so proud of you.”
“No child should have to ask questions that too many black children have had to ask for generations,” Biden added. “Why? Why is daddy gone?”
Floyd’s family members, in a tearful goodbye, remembered him as a family man but pleaded for systematic change to prevent the death of blacks at the hands of police.
“No more hate crimes please,” Floyd’s niece said during her remarks. “This is not just murder but a hate crime”
Multiple family members painfully recalled Floyd’s calls for “Momma,” as he was laying on the ground restrained, moments before he died saying that his mother was metaphorically waiting for him with “open arms.”
Following the ceremony, a horse-drawn carriage, along with a police escort, will transport Floyd’s body to the cemetery.
Texas Southern University police salute as family and guests arrive for George Floyd’s funeral service at The Fountain of Praise Church on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Just a day before, nearly 6,000 people holding signs and wearing “I can’t breathe” t-shirts— highlighting the last words Floyd said before he died– turned out to pay tribute to him during a public memorial service in Houston at the North Central University.
Biden was in attendance with the family at the memorial but did not attend the funeral. According to a Democratic source with knowledge of the conversations, Biden didn’t want his Secret Service protection to disrupt the service.
On Tuesday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz urged his state to hold a moment of silence coinciding with the beginning of Floyd’s ceremony in Texas.
“The world watched in horror as George Floyd’s humanity was taken away from him,” Walz wrote in a state proclamation. “We will not wake up one day and have the disease of systemic racism cured. We must do everything in our power to come together to deconstruct generations of systemic racism in our state so that every Minnesotan – black, indigenous, brown, or white – can be safe and thrive.”
Weeks of protests have successfully persuaded dozens of police precincts and law enforcement agencies across the country to ban the use of chokeholds, tear gas, and pepper spray by officers.
In Congress, Democratic lawmakers introduced a sweeping police reform bill that will ban chokeholds, make lynching a federal hate crime, and create a system that allows people to sue police departments for civil rights violations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.