Happened applause you have chosen the path of love, the path of perfect love that casts out fear, and i want you to know that that is the path not only to your own healing, its the path to the healing of the whole world, it is the path of partnering with god in redeeming the world, and it is a difficult path. You have been asked to carry a burden that would have crushed most people, and you have borne it with grace and courage. Youve called those who disrupted protests with violence or looting to honor georges life with love. You called a president who sought to dominate to live in a leaseful world where we depeople whose perfect fear that casts out anything that looks like love to have a love that casts out fear and you have been a model for the whole world and now we must follow your good example, calling out anything that doesnt honor george or any of the rest of us domination, injustice, oppression, racism. Stephen kleinburg, the imminent socialist at Rice University has taught us that houston, texas is the most diverse city in america. applause houston, texas is ethnically and demographically today what america will be ethnically and demographically in the year 2050, which means we are the experiment in america for how races can get along. But unless and until we are willing to be as brave and as truthful as you have been, nothing will change. The experiment will not at over and over ain what we have done over and over before until, as Fanny Lou Hamer said, we get sick and tired of being sick and tired. So it must be different this time, and i have to tell you, at my church, it is easy to not talk about racism. At my first, it is easy to dismiss as politics the economics of hundreds of years of systemic racism, but not talking and not acting is the path to destruction. applause and we can watch that on the news every night and ask if thats the future we want for it is the future we want for ourselves. So could i just have the privilege, i would like to say a word to white churches. We are better than we used to be but we are not as good as we ought to be and that is not good enough. Which means you have to take up the work of racial justice. Racism did not start in our lifetimes, but racism can end in our lifetime. But only if you ask and i ask what am i going to do about it apt. And while it is still bothering you write down what are you going to do and tape that on the mirror you see every morning you get up and every night before you go to bed and each night ask was i true to the calling. And every morning ask what can i do today to bring gods kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Geeona i saw you on tv and a reporter asked you what was the best thing about your daddy. And you said my daddy changed the world. And if we will do our part, you will have been a profit. So prophet, so from your mouth to gods ear, amen. applause thank you steve. And dr. Lofton and to this wonderful family that has demonstrated what it means to be faithful and courageous. All of us in our lives begin with obscurity. We dont know how it would end pin history. No one thought on that january morning of the 15th day in 1929 that that boy would grow up to be the liberator to a movement called the civil rights. No one knew that august in 1961 on the fourth day, in hawaii of all places, in obscurity that the first africanamerican president would be born. And nobody knew on october 14th, 1973, in obscurity, fayetteville, north carolina, parents boldly, courageously migrating to houston had no idea that god had birthed someone that now belongs in a rightful place of history. We all begin in obscurity. We dont know where well land in history. The question of theology and theocity is where was god in all of this. God was and is where god has always been. God didnt cause it but god can certainuse it. Cliche b its christian bed rock belief that all things Work Together for the good of them who love the lord and who have called according to his purpose. And so to this family today, god is working his way. And he has been where he always will be. I leave you now with these words, trials dark on in ra ham. And we cannot understand all the ways that god will lead us to that blessed promise land but he will guide us with his eyes. And well follow him till we die and then well understand it better by and by. Oh lord we give you praise. A. And we lift our voices to say thank you. And your mercy, that is for. For. And your mercy towards us. That is for, for your goodness. And your mercy was us. We give praise. Oh, yeer. Oh lord we give you praise. And oh lord we bless your name. We lift our voices. Just to say thank you. And yur mercy. For your goodness. And your mercy. That is for you. For your goodness. And your mercy. Why are we offering this. Because you are worthy. Yes, you are. Glory. Even now. You are worthy of. Worthy of the your praise. And your mercy. Yeah. And your mercy. For your goodness. And your mercy. We. Come and help me. Worthy of glory. And beyond us. Yes he has. And your mercy. And your mercy. Your goodness. Your goodness. Goodness. Your goodness. Youve been so good. Goodness. Your kindness. Kindness. Kindness. Your kindness your love. No, not of that. For better or worse. For richer or poorer. Till death do us part. He loves us. He loves us. Thank him for his goodness. Thank him for his goodness. Goodness. Goodness. Your goodness never. For your goodness and your for youess and your mercy. And and your mercy. Can somebody offerpraise right now. I know what were going through, but he is still worthy, we thank you lord for the life. Oh my gosh. Yeah. We are. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Pastor wright, the program is altered because of the time factor, we appreciate the fact that it was difficult for everyone else to stay within their times. Thank you dr. Wright for your auspicious leadership. My privilege and my honor today, as we give honor to this family of george floyd, is to introduce today a man who needs no truction but deserves one. Born october 3rd, 1954, al sharpton. Grew up like most of us, raised like most of us in church. S sundaychool teacher had no idea what she was teaching. His pastor had no idea who he was preparing to. His teachers had no idea who they were teaching. But since that time he has become a social justice activist, a civil rights leader, a talk show host, a commentator, a leader of movements, a freeda preparer amongst preparers. When officer chauvin put his knee on the neck of george floyd, he had no idea that the man whose life he was taking would be important enough to have this preparer to prepare his eulogy. He probably ght ild end quietly, in some obscure funeral home with a few people. But he had no idea that president s of nations would think and write about him and that the preparer who had prepared the service would be the greatest civil rights preparing voice of our time. And weve talked much about how we change things. But when god wants to change things he brings a person to the earth. And when this preparer was birthed, god knew there would be moments like this, where we take someones voice to speak truth to power fro fetically that will change the world. And i hope that when we hear this preparer, all america understands that yes, we can change policies and legislation, but if we want to change this situation, white parents have to teach their boys to be brothers of black boys. We have to teach our daughters to be sisters whether you are black, white brown, because when george floyd was gassing for breathe saying i cant breathe, he was speaking of language of 400 years of africans in this country. We couldnt breathe on the slave ships. We couldnt breathe in jim crow. We couldnt breathe through segregation. We kopt breathe through mass incarceration. We couldnt breathe. And and ass a preparer on the scene for the last four decades, america, we cant breathe, we cant breathe when trayvon martin, and this preparer is here today in houston, texas, because george floyd died then. Saying we cant breathe. I want you to welcome to this pulpit today the iconic preparing voice, annointed preparing personality of the reverend dr. Al sharpton, our voice, our fighter, our leader, our free dpom fighter and because of him, guess what, one day all of us are going to breathe better. Lets stand and receive the honorable reverend al sharpton. First to the family, the whole family that has suffered this crime, i hear people talk about what happened to george floyd like there was some thing less than a crime. This was not just a tragedy. It was a crime. And this family has borne, because this is a time that we need to understand that theyre going to do everything they can to delay these trials and delay the accountability and try to wear this family down. And many that are standing and coming today and skinning and grinning in front of cameras, will not be here for the long run. We must commit to this family, all of these families, all five of his children, grandchildren and all, that until these people pay for what they did, that were going to be there with them or lives like george will not matter until somebody pays the cost for taking their lives. We cannot just act like this is some new way of teaching sociology. We cant act like this is some new need for some of us to add social justice to our program on sunday morning. There is an intentional neglect to make people pay for taking our lives. If four blacks had done to one white, if four black cops had done to one white, what was done to george, they wouldnt have to teach no new lessons. They wouldnt have to get corporations or get money. They would send them to jail. And until we know the orack le p for whlife, were going to keep coming back to these situations over and over again. Even the either the law w so i want to give honor to the family. And a commitment that we are going to b when the last pc truck is gone we will still be here is ive gotten to know some of the family over the last few days. I have seen them cry in private. Ive soon them talk. I told them i grew up in a black family. I know we always going get along. I have some cousins watching me now that better never call me. But ialsohem infe moalts. I will never fore dpet last week when the family was there talking to former president obama on the phone. And said we are not asking you to come because it will take all the secret service stuff and all that. But we just want to thank you and your wife for calling and calling our name, of our brother are, our uncle, doing the speeches you have be about making. And the president made the istake of asking well, what is it yall want me to do. Just tell me where i could be helpful. And philonius said well two things, we want justice and we here in minneapolis, can you send me some food down here. Because they only had the finger food. Everything was closed up in minneapolis. He said i aint on reverend als diet. I want some food. So we had some light moments. I want to ss say the honored dr. Reverend wright and for openk the doors of this church, and putting on their arms around sabrina and her family at this hour. They know this is going to be controversy in some states yet they opened the doors anyway,no, beve. Ople wo spoke with them ohe phon he elcomed mily, iwere ging them a lot of, we should not take them for granted. And i think that they are deserving of a lot of honor. Hes a man and shes a woman of courage. We have two many holy punks in the pull pit. Yall do know im al sharpton. Im going to say what i got to say. Give a hand to pastor reamus wright and sister mia wright. applause y on e want to, and i am going attorney ben crump. I call him black americas attorney general. Probably because we dont feel we have one. Ben crump has fought and stood for many cases and he has with him a Legal Team Im sure that will be acknowledged that are here, brother stewart, we should not take for granted. When black lauers take these cases like crump has, they are targeted by their Bar Association 69 theyre targeted by people that are envious and gel us. Jealous, we need civil rights lawyers that are there for civil rights, not for civil settlements. And thats why i give him recognition. I must also recognize several families are here that came at great sacrifice but they