Americans appeal for racial equality as George Floyd public viewing underway in Houston

A public viewing for George Floyd, an African American man who died while in police custody, is underway on Monday in Houston, Texas, the United States.

The memorial is being held in the Fountain of Praise Church in Houston, where 46-year-old Floyd grew up. A private funeral service will be held at the same place Tuesday.

The public viewing started at noon and will continue till 6 pm local time, according to the Fort Bend Memorial Planning Center, the organiser of the public viewing and funeral.

Hours before the viewing began, people from Houston and across the country waited outside the church to pay tribute to Floyd. Police have also been deployed at the scene.

There is a long queue outside the church, as people stand in the scorching heat waiting. Doreatha Walker, an African American woman, came on behalf of her family.

"If you don't stand for something, you fall for anything. George Floyd didn't deserve to die the way he did," she told Xinhua. "We have to stand up against police brutality. We have to stand up against racism. I'm here today and I don't care about the heat because all of these have to stop."

Walker said her daughter and niece attended the protests in Houston in the past few days. Showing up to represent them, she said inequality and injustice must be replaced by equality and justice in the country.

"If I want to go to another city or state, I should be able to live in peace and harmony, not worry because of the color of my skin," she said.

An African American who identified himself as Kelvin brought his whole family to the viewing, including three children. "We are here to show the support to the Floyd family. I'm an African American male myself so I understand how important this move is right now," he told Xinhua.

"People need to be held accountable for the actions," he said, adding that the former police officers who are responsible for the death of Floyd "need to be convicted to show that they are not above the law."

People of different races have come to the church to pay respect. Nick Beechlar, a white man, said that attending the ceremony was the least he could do to show "support to anyone that is being suppressed at this moment."

Talking about racial inequality, he said, "It's unfair and change needs to happen. To do that, you need to start locally and go up to the government and change from there."

Expecting a large number of visitors, the organiser said it is a tough task to make sure the social distancing regulation is met as confirmed COVID-19 cases are still growing in Houston.

Due to social distancing requirements, only 15 guests are allowed inside the church at a time. Visitors must go through metal detector and temperature check before entering the church. Masks are also mandatory.

The organiser told local media that Floyd's family contacted them a day after he passed away to conduct the services.

Bobby Swearington, owner of the Fort Bend Memorial Planning Center, told a local TV station that the family had only one request – the funeral be a grand experience.

Last week, two memorials were held in Minneapolis, the city in which Floyd died after being pinned by the neck for almost nine minutes by a white police officer's knee, and Raeford, North Carolina, the state where Floyd was born. Hundreds of people paid tribute to Floyd by laying wreaths at the memorials.

Floyd's body arrived in Houston Saturday night, the Houston Police Department said. At the request of the family, his entry was made private.

Moved from North Carolina to Houston's Third Ward community as a baby, Floyd grew up and spent most of his lifetime in the fourth largest city of the United States.

Floyd's death has triggered protests all over the United States. In the city of Dallas, Texas, artist Jammie Holmes made creative banners, displaying a few of the last words uttered by Floyd. In only two days, Holmes finished the banners, and flew them over a number of US cities, The Dallas Morning News reported.

The banners read "My neck hurts" in Dallas, "My stomach hurts" in Miami, "Please I can't breathe" in Detroit, "Everything hurts" in Los Angeles and "They're going to kill me" in New York, respectively.

-- BERNAMA