U.S. stays in silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds

A silent moment of prayer was shared for eight minutes and 46 seconds widely across the United States on Thursday (local time) when mourners held a memorial to honor the death of George Floyd, a black man who was choked to death by a white police officer who kneeled on his neck. U.S. President Donald Trump took a step back by withdrawing his plan to deploy federal troops in response to protesters on the streets of Washington D.C.

In 10 days of protests against racial discrimination across the Unites States, Floyd's memorial was held with a relative calm setting over Minneapolis. The silence of eight minutes and 46 seconds is the same time period a white cop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, pinned Floyd down. Human rights groups including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) proposed to observe a silent prayer for eight minutes and 46 seconds in remembrance of Floyd's death at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday.

Reverend Al Sharpton said at the memorial at North Central University that it is time for black people to shout, “Get your knee off our necks!” Calling for change, he argued that it is time to deal with accountability. Floyd’s family attorney Benjamin Crump blamed “the pandemic of racism and discrimination” for the death.

The memorial was attended by Floyd’s family members, politicians and civic activists. With one hand on the coffin, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey took a knee and shed tears for minutes.

Protesters paid a silent tribute to Floyd’s death for eight minutes and 46 seconds across many parts of the nation including Boston and Tacoma. Meanwhile, thousands of peaceful protestors continued across New York, Nashville, Seattle and Santa Monica.

After a long time of being at odds with U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper over a deployment of National Guard troops to quash protesters, President Donald Trump finally agreed on backing off his plan to withdraw federal troops from Washington D.C., according to The New York Times.


Bo-Mi Im bom@donga.com