George Floyd's Family Urges Calm in Minneapolis

Seeing Minneapolis burning 'would devastate' him, girlfriend says
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted May 28, 2020 4:42 PM CDT
George Floyd's Family: Let's Stay Peaceful
Protesters face off with Minneapolis police Thursday, after a night of rioting.   (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

As civil rights leaders arrived in Minneapolis, relatives of a man killed in a confrontation with police this week urged an end to the violence and looting in the city George Floyd loved. A statement issued by the family's lawyer thanked demonstrators for "standing for justice," but said, "we also cannot sink to the level of our oppressors," the Star Tribune reports. "We cannot endanger each other as we respond to the necessary urge to raise our voices in unison and outrage," the family said. Courteney Ross, Floyd's girlfriend, said: "Waking up this morning to see Minneapolis on fire would be something that would devastate Floyd. He loved the city." Ross urged that she wants the demonstrations to be peaceful. Her boyfriend "was about love and about peace," she said. Floyd, 46, was killed Monday.

The Rev. Al Sharpton appeared Thursday with leaders and clergy near the spot where Floyd died. Asked about ending the violence, Sharpton said: "The violence was started on this corner when the man was choked to death. There's a difference between peace and quiet. Some people just want quiet. Peace is justice." The Rev. Jesse Jackson said protesters should stay in the streets until charges are announced against the four officers involved, per USA Today. Military-style policing across the country has led to these clashes, Jackson said. "Blacks are being brutalized without consequences," he said. To address the racial inequities, Jackson said, "the health care gap, the job gap, education gap, the criminal justice gap ... these gaps must be addressed." (A high school coach is in hot water over his posts about Floyd's death.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X