George Floyd's niece Brooke Williams slams Trump's MAGA slogan, asks 'when has America ever been great?'
George Floyd's niece, Brooke Williams, slammed Donald Trump at her uncle's funeral. Floyd died after a now-former police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for a sickening eight minutes and 46 seconds while arresting him. At the funeral that took place on Tuesday, June 9 in Houston, Texas, she referred to her murdered uncle by his middle name 'Perry'. Floyd's niece, Brooke Williams called out racism in the US and said, "as long as I'm breathing, justice will be served for Perry," Metro reports.
"My uncle was a father, brother, uncle, and a cousin to many. Spiritually grounded, an activist, he always moved people with his words. Those officers showed no remorse as they watched my uncle’s soul leave his body," Williams said. "He begged and pleaded many times just for you to get up, but you just pushed harder," she continued. "Why must this system be corrupt and broken? Laws were already put in place for the African American system to fail. These laws need to be changed. Please, no more hate crimes." She added, "Somebody said Make America Great Again, but when has America ever been great?" while referring to Trump's 2016 election slogan 'Make America Great Again' (MAGA).
The death of George Floyd has sparked a lot of outrage and nationwide protests after a viral video showed a police officer kneeling on Floyd's neck. Floyd eventually lost consciousness and died, leading to widespread anger against police brutality. Besides Chauvin, three other police officers were assisting the arrest and did nothing to intervene as Floyd begged for his life. Ex-officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng were also present at the scene. "Those four officers were literally on him for nine minutes and none of them showed they have a heart of soul, this was not just murder – this was a hate crime," Williams shared.
An official post-mortem examination declared the death of Floyd as a homicide on Monday, June 1. The lawyer for the Floyd family, Benjamin Crump, said, "Beyond doubt, he would be alive today if not for the pressure applied to his neck by officer Derek Chauvin and the strain on his body by two other officers. The ambulance was his hearse."
Many celebrities took to various social media platforms to express their disgust and outrage at the incident. Viola Davis wrote on her Instagram handle, "This is what it means to be Black in America. Tried. Convicted. Killed for being Black." "We are dictated by hundreds of years of policies that have restricted our very existence and still have to continue to face modern-day lynchings. Here's the thing..... America will never be great until we can figure out a way for it to work for EVERYBODY!!!" Davis added.
Singer Ciara shared, "My heart can't take it, seeing what’s happened to #GeorgeFloyd. This is eerily similar to the death of #EricGarner. There has to be a stopping point in the process of arresting someone. It’s all senseless," she added. The incident has been compared to the death of Garner who was choked by the police in 2014.