Quincy Mason Floyd, the son of George Floyd, spoke passionately about his father's life at a memorial near the site where he was killed by the police nearly two weeks ago.
“No man or woman should be without their father. And we want justice for what’s going on right now,” Quincy said. "I appreciate everyone for showing support and love and I thank y'all for that. This is so emotional."
Upon his arrival at the memorial, Quincy took a knee in honor of his father — who was killed by officer Derek Chauvin when he pressed his knee into George's neck for eight minutes, as Blavity previously reported.
Quincy was at the memorial with the family's attorney, Benjamin Crump, who also spoke to the crowd about the need to remember George and others who lost their lives due to police brutality and racism.
“Floyd was an American citizen and George Floyd was a human being. George Floyd deserved humanity. When he couldn’t breathe, none of us could breathe. All the world is watching,” Crump said.
Family members of George have spoken out in recent days about their anguish over his killing, which has ignited global fury over the treatment of Black people by police.
At a press conference on Monday, the mother of George's 6-year-old daughter Gianna, Roxie Washington, cried as she spoke about the support her daughter will be missing now that her father is gone.
“I wanted everybody to know that this is what those officers took from me. At the end of the day, they get to go home and be with their families. Gianna does not have a father. He will never see her grow up, graduate, he will never walk her down the aisle," Washington said.
"If there’s a problem that she’s having and she needs her dad, she does not have that anymore. I’m here for my baby and I’m here for George because I want justice for him. I want justice for him because he was good. No matter what anybody thinks, he was good,” she continued.
After news broke that all of the officers involved in George's death had been arrested and charged, his family released a statement about the decision, the New York Daily News reported.
“This is a significant step forward on the road to justice, and we are gratified that this important action was brought before George Floyd’s body was laid to rest. That is a source of peace for George’s family in this painful time,” the family said.