George Floyd's Daughter Speaks About Her Dad for First Time in Statement
The global impact of George Floyd's death isn't being lost on his 6-year-old daughter Gianna [...]
The global impact of George Floyd's death isn't being lost on his 6-year-old daughter Gianna "GiGi" Floyd. In an emotional video shared by Stephen Jackson, Floyd's longtime friend, Gianna is seen sitting on the former NBA star's shoulders as she declares "Daddy changed the world" after her father's death while in police custody sparked a global protest movement.
Shared with his more than 680,000 Instagram followers Tuesday as demonstrators took to the streets for the eighth straight day of protests, Jackson wrote, "that's right GiGi 'Daddy changed the world,'" adding that "George Floyd the name of change." He included the "Justice for George Floyd" and "I've Had Enough" hashtags.
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Floyd, 46, died on May 25 after being taken into police custody on suspicion of possessing a counterfeit $20 bill. Handcuffed and seen lying on the ground, a video showed former officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, nearly three minutes of which he was unconscious. His repeated words of "I can't breathe" quickly became a rallying cry as protesters across the country took to the streets.
Although protests were initially centered in Minneapolis, where the incident occurred, they quickly spread to cities across the country. Large-scale protests have taken place in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and other cities. Within days, protests were occurring in all 50 states, though the call for justice has not been limited exclusively to the United States.
According to the New York Times, people in Berlin, London, Paris and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as in capitals in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East have taken to the streets. In Syria, street artist artists Aziz Asmar and Anis Hamdoun memorialized Floyd with a touching mural painted on the ruins of a bombed-out building. Meanwhile, in France, thousands of protesters took a knee and raised a fist as they paid homage to Floyd and Adama Traore, a French black man who died in police custody in 2016, according to TIME.
As protests continue to appear across the globe, some turning violent and sparking curfews and heavy police response, Floyd's family prepares to say their final goodbyes. Earlier this week, the family's attorney announced that two memorial services — one in Minneapolis on Thursday and a second in North Carolina on Saturday — will take place. A public viewing will then be held in Houston, where Floyd was raised, on Monday, followed by a private funeral service on Tuesday.
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