In indianapolis, you can see there. This casket. There, we ask to see someone speaking right now. We will continue to monitor whats going on at this memorial. We will bring you more from that. Now, just yesterday, all four officers involved in detaining george floyd were charged and those charges against officer Derek Chauvin were bumped to Second Degree murder. We will take you to that memorial when it starts. You can see it online as well as on our app. Well, doctors if oakland are standing behind the black lives Matter Movement and reminding their own community they are fighting back against injustice. Jackie ward is live in oakland with more on what they had to say. Jackie. Reporter three dozen doctors and medical staff gathered here to demonstrateter of Public Health and its a Public Health crisis, because, obviously, people are dying from what they say Police Brutality. Mentally, they believe this is taking a serious mental toll on people. One doctor says she feels incredibly supported. She worries about the long Lasting Health impact this will have, especially on people of color. Even the internalization of that racism, makes you doubt your ability to achieve things that all people around are you achieving. So seeing people out here lets me realize i am suffering but not alone and people do care and there is still hope. Reporter d white coats for black lives. Its a part of a message doctors are putting out there all over the country that they will not stand for Racial Injustice and will continue to advocate for their black patients and colleagues. The africanamerican Mental Health scene is hosting it at 3 00 this afternoon. We have much more on our website. Thank you so much, jackie. You know, more protests are planned throughout the bay area today. It comes on the heel officer a large demonstration taking place within the last 24 hours. As many as 30,000 people marched through the mission and castro districts yesterday. Hundreds also gathered later in the evening by broadway and 14th downtown oakland. That rally was in defiance of that 8 00 p. M. Curfew but that was put into place monday. Can i tell you opd actually allowed the protesters to break the curfew as long as they were peaceful. Many say it is important to make sure their voices are heard in this moment. Im here and still breathing for Breana Taylor or george floyd, like using my body to be a part of this movement is important regardless of the consequences. We all need to stand up for each other. You cant be silent. Its our right to be here to speak. So we should be here. Last night at 10 00 p. M. , protesters took a dance break doing the cupid shuffle. Opd is only recording one arrest with no reports of violence or physical damage. Well, video has gone viral, showing San Jose Police officers chasing down a man and seemingly hitting him with a motorcycle. That video was posted to twitter. Its already had more than 100,000 views. The video followed others released friday, showing officers screaming curse word at protesters and it generated a lot of controversy. San jose police and the mayor are planning to speak about the protests today at 1 00 p. M. Wed like to invite to you join our team as we have that conversation tonight. Race in america. The conversation. Were devoting an entire hour exploring the racial divide, why we are here and what needs to happen if we want to move forward. Jessica and i will actually lead this conversation. It is tonight at 6 30 right here on nbc bay area. Right now, we want to go to a special report. Nbc news is having when it comes to that memorial for george floy floyd. This is a nbc news special report remembering george floyd, reporting from minneapolis. Here is lester holt. Hello, everyone, welcome. We are here at North CentralUniversity Minneapolis to bring you live coverage of the Memorial Service for george floyd. The first in a series of services that will culminate in his burial next week in his home state of texas. George floyds life ended at the hands of four minneapolis Police Officers, including one who pressed his knee into floyds neck for nearly nine minutes as he laid dying in the street. Those officers were fired and have all been charged in his murder. In death, george floyd has become larger than life, known the world over as a symbol of Police Brutality against africanamerican men. His name now a rallying cry for change and social justice. In the word of his 6yearold daughter, daddy changed the world. That is likely to be a theme in the Memorial Service today. Joining me for todays coverage is today show host and anchor craig melvin. Craig. Reporter lester. Good afternoon to you. You mentioned the service. I spent some time talking to Benjamin Crump a few hours ago. Of course, mr. Crump, the attorney for the family. And i asked him what we could expect from this Memorial Service. He said it is not just going to be remembering the life of a 46yearold father of two. It is going to be talking about how his life in his death has become so much more than any one could have imagined. You look out at the crowd here in minneapolis, the crowd here looks a lot like the protest crowds over the country. Its quite striking. Young, old, black, white. It is a diverse intoduced to say the least. That has been one of the things most striking about these protests. A man dies in Police Custody in minneapolis and it sparks protests in salt lake city, utah, in florida. In literally every state in this country. Protests the like we have not seen in our lifetime. There will be a fair amount of focus on moving forward, using his death as a rallying cry to change Police Tactics specifically. We know that reverend al sharpton will be delivering the eulogy. We are told a number of activists and actors and athletes, musicians will be here. Gospel great ezekhiah walker will be here as a tribute to george floyd, we are told. Yeah, craig, as we look inside the services. People are taking their streets, having an announcement about social distancing. Asking people to maintain social distancing in this hostage of covid. Also with us today to talk about things, Washington Post associate editor and nbc news contributor you Jean RobinsonEugene Robinson, Georgetown University law professor and former prosecutor paul butler with us as well. I want to pick up with our panel, with what craig was talking about an hour ago, a little more than an hour ago, i was at the site of where george floyd died, where that makeshift memorial is under way. And i looked around that crowd. It was old. It was young. It was white. It was black. Eugene robinson, let me start with you at this point. We have tended to look at things sometimes through the idea eighth black movement. Its a black concern. Weve seen anything but that in the protests and the faces that have stood up for justice in this case. Thats absolutely right, lester. Thats what i saw. I was down at the protest near Lafayette Square near the white house yesterday. The same spot where on monday the protesters were routed in order to allow the president to have his photo op at st. Johns church. But the crowd i saw was incredible and was quite different from the crowd. Markedly different from the crowds that i saw, for example, in 1958 in those [ inaudible ] of dr. King. This is were really at an inflexion point. Something has changed. This is a society saying enough i think there must be change. We cant keep going over this over and over and over again. Lets do something. So it is now our society to follow through and the challenge of people to listen and to act. And in some of the other places we follow, there were offramps that allow people to think well, there is extenuating circumstances, there is something we dont know. How much does it change things the fact that we were all witness to this, that that video continued to roll as george floyd was on that officers knee, how does that provide people a choice that they cant take an offramp . Yeah. I think thats exactly what we are seeing here. I actually have been thinking a lot about emmett till in 1955. How seeing his 14yearold body displayed in his casket finally forced a lot of white americans to confront the violence they have been largely willing to ignore. And that you have these certain terribly egregious moments where that you can no longer deny what black communities have been saying. You can no longer deny the type of brutality and inequity that. If are you a human being and seeing a man lying on his ground and an act of the state lays on his next for 8 minutes and 40 seconds, if you have a heart in your body, there is no way you can be outraged like that. Sometimes it takes a case like that to galvanize americans who were comfortable to sit home before. Yeah. Paul butler, when i was at the memorial site today, i was talking to people on a nightly news story, what does justice look for . What is the answer to the calls weve heard in the street . Is there a clear place that officials can move very quickly to answer the calls of these protesters that will make a strong statement that change is here and its happening . I think mr. Floyd was arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit 20 bill. Thats not a crime where you need to be arrested. People can be given citations. We seen too often in middle eastern offenses, eric garner a cigarette in new york that those cases escalate as deep. President obama had the commission that recommended a number of reforms that President Trump essentially tossed in the garbage. So its not like you dont know how to make Police Officers for effe effective. Its not we cant implement those reforms and, hopefully, this is the moment. Yeah. Ill pick up that point with you. Life moves very quickly. Right now we are transfixed on this story. We are horrified by what happened. But as weve seen going from covid to this, that things move very quickly. Will this one be different . Will we continue to focus forwa . I think we will, lester. I really think, im glad nicole raised the history involving emmett till. Because that was one of those moments in history where people paid attention in a way that they hadnt before, where it just struck at ones heart to see the images of that young boy so brutally murdered and to have seen the last minutes of George Floyds life, i think it makes an enormous difference. I think everything is intensified because of Everything Else that is happening. Were in the middle of a Global Pandemic that has taken more than 100,000 lives in this country. We are experiencing unemployment at levels we havent seen since the great depression. This is one of those times, where it seems like the world is sort of off of iting a is and everything is i think testified and so this is really a moment for this country to remember this year the way we remember it. Kevin hart in the crowd. We saw reverend yes, sir se jackson. Some of the notable was are gathering inside now for this memorial, with i should be getting under way shortly. Nicole, i want to talk to you about the protests we seen for a week or more. For a while it seems the voices were changed and justice were drowned out by those who were exploiting the six and sew chaos. But the peaceful protests pushed them back, reclaim their message. Does that surprise you . And the longer question, how long do they need to be in the street streets . I mean whats always the case is most of the people who participate in these uprisings are peacefully protesting. You always see some folks who become more destructive. But theyre never the majority of those protesting. They certainly werent the majority of those protesting in the last weekandahalf. Though media tended to pay a lot of attention to the destruction, most protesters were being peaceful, not destroying property and i think weve seen a correction of both the coverage and protesters speaking up and saying you are losing the message when you allow yourselves to be projected in that way. I mean, how long should they last . You know, im a journalist. Im not the one to say how long they should last. But there are not quick fixes and we know protests lasting a day or two. We may not have seen the charges coming for the officers. We might not see the introduction of Breana Taylors law for her killing and people getting fired immediately when someone, a Restaurant Owner is killed during a protest. So how long, i guess, how long do these last . How long do americans need to protest to finally be heard . And, paul, let me ask you about going forward. A lot of focus, of course, on the charges against the four officers. Justice sometimes doesnt move quickly. They will have a defense. Is there too much focus on that being the answer to justice . Putting all your eggs in one basket, i suppose . Lester, i think what weve seen is that the problems in the criminal Justice System go beyond bad apple cops. Now there is a civil rights investigation of the Minneapolis Police department. I think its so revealing that the chief of the depar africanamerican, when he was a line officer, he sued the Minneapolis Police department for discrimination. So the civil rights investigation needs structural changes for systemic relief that i think will have more of an effect in the prosecution of the officers is important. The family has Second Degree murder charges, because they felt thats the gravity of the offense. Certainly when people break the law, there should be consequences. But there are more ongoing issue issu issues. All right. As we continue to await this service to get under way, i want to go to gabe gutierrez. Hes been on the ground here for the last many days in minneapolis, gabe, the tone in this city certainly has shifted. Its been quiet on one level, yet, persistent in folks continuing to ask for justice. Reporter thats right, lester. You were here a short time ago at the scene where george floyd stepped out of the way and show you, as you mentioned, the tone here in this city shifted considerably. When i first got here a week ago, it has since shifted to celebratory honoring George Floyds wife. Its been days as well f. You look at live pictures, you see them putting their hands in the air. It was extremely emotional when the crowd here learns of new charges against those officers. Many got down on one knee and put their hands in the air with four fingers saying theyve got all four. Certainly here today, there were members of the Congressional Black Caucus that paid their respects. Yesterday, george bushs son 22yearsold came here and paid his respects. The family demanded first degree murder charges. Georges family say they welcome the new and upgraded charges here. As this city awaits new services, the city plans multiple services over the next week. Gabe, i have been struck by the number of children who came out there. I talked about this being a teaching moment for their children. Do you continue to see kids there . Reporter certainly. If you can see behind me, there is people of all walks of life, black, white, young, old, many families have been here and they tell me that this is a teachable moment, lester. We spoke with some of them. We have also spoken with a man who grew up here in south minneapolis and says, the emotions are very complicated here. This has become more than about one man, more than about george floyd. This is a community that has dealt with problems of race relation, especially with the police over the last year, decades, even centuries and just a few days ago, state authorities opened a sweeping civil rights investigation into the Minneapolis Police department. Many of the folks we have spoken with here say these are positive first steps, but that it is not enough. Certainly, they welcome these new charges as today its all, the focus is honoring the life of 46yearold george floyd. Lester. You can see folks moving in, getting a glimpse of the floyd family as they aradio irve for service to remember george floyd making their way inside right now. As we mentioned, a number of notable faces weve seen in the crowd, senator Amy Klobuchar is here, the mayor of the twin cities are here. I saw kevin hart among one of the celebrities that was expected to attend this moment, this memorial, something his family certainly never could have imagined, one, losing their brother, their son, their father but in such a horrible and violent way that has been really gone like a tsunami across the world as the whole world looks at the United States and the system of justice and inequality for that system. So they should be getting under way rather shortly. We are told the service, itself, will last roughly two hours or a little less perhaps than two hours. Let me go back to craig melvin right now who was in the crowd. Craig, describe what you are seeing from your vantage point. Lester, you got probably close to 1,000 people now who fill the streets here outside North Central university and theyre piping in the service. Theyre piping in the service into the streets. So were hearing the gospel music and when the actual Memorial Service begins, we are told folks will be able sit, stand. There is a large park. A few feet from where im standing. Folks are in the park, to hear the service. To hear the memorial. And whats striking and we talked about this a little bit a few moments ago, you are familiar with the demographics of minneapolis, we watch more of the family members come in. Oh, by the way, everyone going inside i noticed they are getting temperature checks as ell in addition to the pleas inside to socially distance and wearing a mask and also everyone going inside the service is undergoing temperature checks. But the demographics of minneapolis are such that we should not be surprised that the crowds have been protesting. Those crowds are diverse. Its a very diverse statement one of the largest population of somalians here in minneapolis. But you also have a lot of young colleges. This is a college town, a lot of Young Professionals as well. So the people we are seeing at the protests are the same people who are filling the streets as well. We have been told when the service starts, we will, in addition to the eulogy from reverend Sharpton Ben Crump will be giving remarks as well, a number of George Floyds family members are expected to get up. One of the concerns his brother expressed over the past few days. One of the concerns is george floyd is going to become a hashtag, that and weve seen it out here. His picture on teeshirts. His brother sent him down talking about how much his family doesnt want that to be his legacy. They dont want to face george floyd being warned. They want his name to be associated with reform. They want his name to be associated with changing Police Tactics in this country. Its very interesting to see how quickly his family, embrace the idea of george floyd really becoming a catalyst for something tremendous in this country. You mentioned the 6yearold daughter. One of his childhood friends, stephen jackson, an nba player. An nba all star. He spent some time over the past week. The picture i was goi reference. Thats George Floyds 6yearold daughter, Steven Jackson hoisted her on to his shoulders yesterday and she was chanting daddy, change the world. Daddy, change the world. They havent told george floyd, they havent told her precisely how he died. Only he died because he couldnt breathe. Jackson says he is going to step in and be that father figure for his daughter. For george floyd, who wont be able walk her down the aisle, go to her graduation, go to the play, the concerts. They want to make sure that part of george floyd is remembered today during this memorialcrg,. I want to bring in Eugene Robinson to kind of put this afternoon in perspective. Why is this memorial important . Not just for the xhaunt but for countr country . Well, when you have a death like this, there is a process of closure that has to take place and i think, you know, this is the beginning of that process. There is going to be another ceremony in North Carolina and in houston. The final funeral in houston next week. But i think its very important certainly for the community of minneapolis to say goodbye in a way that recognizes this life and also recognizes the importance of his tragic death. And that says he did not die in vane. So i think its important for not just the people of minneapolis, but people around the country, i think, will watch today and will pray and well have a chance to get to know george floyd in a way in a fuller way, a more rounded way to get to know the victim we saw in that video. So, i think people are paying attention and i think it is, it will be the beginning of this process of closure on his death. The reverend al sharpton, who will be leading the eulogy is now inside preparing to take his seat for todays service. Nicole, i want to ask you about some of the other biproducts. A lot of talk about Police Reform and funds being diverted away from Police Departments to community programs. How powerful is that . If it actuallyhappens, it will be tremendously powerful. Because in a capitalist country, we show our values for what we are willing to pay for. For decades, we have been talking more and more enforcement for jails and other Services Like education and food stamp programs to help the media decline. There was a devastating article in the Washington Post today that said that 52 of black adults are unemployed in this country right now that if it takes, you have to add up the Household Wealth 11andahalf for every one white household to see that so were talking about Police Brutality of the looting in this country every day. And we need Economic Policy that all americans are hurting, but black americans are hurt and i hope you see resource to address that instead of separate policing. Is it a narrow window right now that the, everyone has the attention on these issues . Yes. I think it is a narrow window. I think there are two things. The pandemic has shown us that divesting from our institution, they have come to express so much in our politics is not sustainable that we really are not connected as americans and