Mourners pack Houston church for George Floyd’s funeral

George Floyd — the black man whose police-involved death touched off a global reckoning over racial injustice — was laid to rest Tuesday at a funeral in Texas, where he was remembered as a loving father and eulogized by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who declared “the movement won’t rest until we get justice!”

Hundreds of mourners, including Floyd’s family, packed into the Fountain of Praise Church in Houston, wearing all white for the hours-long celebration of life, along with face masks due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“You said you wanted to touch the world. Well, God had already made you for that. Because all over the world, George, they’re marching with your name,” Sharpton roared.

“Even in a pandemic, people are walking out in the streets not even following social distancing because you’ve touched the world. And as we lay you to rest today, the movement won’t rest until we get justice. Until we have one standard of justice.”

Addressing Floyd’s death at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer, Floyd’s niece, Brooke Williams, told the audience: “This is not just murder but a hate crime.”

“I still can’t pull myself together, how he was calling my grandmother’s name,” she continued, referring to Floyd calling out for his mother as he lay dying, pinned beneath Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee for nearly nine minutes. “I believe my grandmother was right there with open arms saying, ‘Come home, baby, you shouldn’t feel this pain. No one should feel this pain.’”

Williams also spoke of happier times, including playing games with her uncle and scratching his head.

“He always told me, ‘Baby girl, you’re going to go so far with that beautiful smile and brains of yours,’” she recalled.

Dignitaries including former Vice President Joe Biden, Rep. Al Green, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner delivered remarks.

In a recorded video message, Biden addressed Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter Gianna.

“When there is justice for George Floyd, we will truly be on our way to racial justice in America,” the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate said. “Then, like you said Gianna, your daddy will have changed the world.”

The little girl was seen in a video last week saying, “Daddy changed the world.”

In his remarks, Turner announced that he would sign an executive order banning Houston police from using chokeholds, drawing applause from the audience.

“And what that order will say is that in this city, we will ban chokeholds and strangle holds,” the mayor said. “In this city, we will require de-escalation. In this city, you have to give a warning before you shoot. In this city, you have a duty to intervene. In this city, we will require comprehensive reporting. In this city, you must exhaust, all alternatives before shooting. And there will be other things in this executive order.”

Turner also declared June 9 “George Perry Floyd Jr. Day.”

Meanwhile, Jackson Lee vowed “there will be no more 8:46 of police brutality” — in reference to the amount of time Floyd was pinned to the ground by the cop.

“And so I say to George Floyd, it will be up to us that his purpose and his assignment for the justice of this nation, for the fact that there will never be the brutality faced by a man who says, ‘I can’t breathe’ and calls to a mama who loved him so,” the congresswoman said. “That is the call for all of us.”

Grammy-winning singer Ne-Yo said Floyd’s death was a “sacrifice that changed the world,” before delivering a tearful rendition of G.C. Cameron’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” at the service.

The family of Eric Garner — the Staten Island man who died after being placed in a banned chokehold in 2014 — also attended Floyd’s funeral, as did relatives of other black people who have been killed by police or neighborhood vigilantes, including Ahmaud Arbery, Botham Jean, Michael Brown and Pamela Turner.

“All of these families came to stand with this family because they know better than anyone else the pain they will suffer from the loss they have gone through,” Sharpton said in his eulogy, asking each relative to stand as the attendees clapped for them.

The civil rights activist also slammed politicians and business leaders for their belated apologies about the treatment of African Americans.

“Don’t apologize, give Colin Kaepernick a job back,” Sharpton said, addressing the NFL in reference to the former quarterback.

“We don’t want an apology, we want him repaired.”

He also said the cop who pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck — and has since been charged with second-degree murder — must be held accountable.

“Lives like George will not matter until somebody pays the cost for taking their lives,” Sharpton said, adding, “this was not just a tragedy. It was a crime.”

Following the service, Floyd’s body was to be transported in a horse-drawn carriage to the Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland, where he was set to be buried next to his mother.

Floyd, 46, who grew up in Houston, died May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, while three other officers involved face second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.

His death kicked off raging protests around the globe against police brutality and systemic racism.

The funeral capped off six days of memorials for Floyd in three cities.