Transcripts For MSNBCW Deadline White House 20200609

Here. That came at great sacrifice, but they wanted to be here. To be part of this because they understand the pain better than anyone, because theyve gone through the pain. And i think that we should recognize the mother of trayvon martin, will you stand . The mother of eric garner, will you stand . The sister of bompa john, will you stand . The father of Michael Brown from ferguson, missouri, will you stand . The father of ahmaud arbery, will you stand . All of these families came to stand with this family. Because they know better than anyone else, the pain theyll suffer. From the loss that they have gone through. I also want to thank all of those that helped to make this as easy as they could for the family, certainly we thank, again, our those in the financial and entertainment world, that immediately jumped up and said to the family that they wanted to help. And make sure that they didnt have to worry about expense, tyler perry. And robert smith and champion floyd mayweather. And others that have come, it means a lot because it shows the world the weight of this. Brother jamie foxx is with us today. Stand up, jamie. [ applause ] al b. Sure is in the house today. [ applause ] let me get into my terrell owens, everyones sending me notes. I want you to turn briefly to the book of ephesians. 6 chapter. Ephesians, 6 chapter, because i think that we need to understand what were dealing with here. It tells the story of why i think we need to really look at the situation differently. Because it talks about in pauls letter, ephesians, okay, im catching up with myself, it says in his letter to the ephesians, he says finally be strong in the lord. And in his mighty power, put on the full armor of god. So that you can take your stand against the devil for our struggle isnt against flesh and blood, but against rulers and authorities, against the powers of the darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in high places. Therefore, put on the full armor of god so when the day of evil comes he may be able to withstand your ground. May god add a blessing to the reading of his word. We are not fighting some disconnected incident. We are fighting an institutional syst systemic problem that has been allowed to permeate since we were brought to these shores. And we are fighting wickedness in high places. When you can put your knee on a mans neck, and hold it there for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, thats not even normal to a civilian. Try it when you go home to put on someone that long. You got to be full a lot of venom, full of something that motivates you to press down your weight that long and not give up. And to think youre certified by the state to carry a badge and a gun and you got all of that in you, means that we have permitted people to become officers of the law that ought to be somewhere else in society. Imagine you pressing down on something eight minutes, thats telling you i cant breathe, thats begging for their life, and you keep pressing, what kind of mentality is is that . How do we screen who Police Officers are . How do we get to this place over and over again . They told eric garner, put him in the chokehold, he said i cant breathe. Those three cops walked, no prosecution, until the law is upheld and people know they will go to jail, theyre going to keep doing it because theyre protected by wickedness in high places. How do you prevent crime in thehood . You scare others by saying, if you do that youre going to jail. How are you going to scare a bad cop if bad cops dont go to jail . Who taught these cops that they can do this to george was elected cops before get away with this. And when they have the highest level of government that that excuses it, when some kids wrongly start violence, that this family dont condone and none of us do, the president talks about bringing in the military. But hes not said one word about 8 minutes and 46 seconds of Police Murder of george floyd. Only he said the family has my sympathy and all of this. He didnt give those on the other situations his sympathy, he challenged china on human rights, what about the human rights of george floyd . The signals that were sending is that if you are in Law Enforcement the law doesnt apply to you. And im telling you that the law ought especially apply to you because youre giving special powers that others dont have. We dont have a badge representing the state, we dont have a gun were carrying, weve not gone through training. We should expect more from you. And if you break the law, you ought to be expected to pay an even higher price because you know better and you swore not to do that. [ applause ] so, yeah, its nice that everybody wants to now study the problem, its nice big corporations said were going to throw money to study equal justice, but if we went out here and do that to a young white kid you wouldnt need no study, youd know what to do. And you know what to do now. Do justice. All this family wants is justice. Its nice to see some people change their mind, head of the nfl said, yeah, maybe we was wrong, Football Players maybe they did have the right to peacefully protest. Dont apologize. Give Colin Kaepernick a job back. [ applause ] dont come with some empty apology. Take a mans livelihood, strip a man down of his talents and four years later, when the whole world is marching, you all of sudden you go and do a facetime talk about you sorry. Minimizing the value of our lives. Youre sorry, then pay the damage when colin took the knee he took it for the families in this building and we dont want an apology, we want him repair repaired. [ applause ] equal justice. Equal fairness. Were not antianybody, were trying to stop people from being antius. We want the law to apply equally. And you dont need a whole lot of studying about that, yes, we need new laws, yes, the congress has stepped up, the Congressional Black Caucus has come, yes, we need to close these laws, yes, we need to stop where policemen can say based on what they thought they can use lethal force. Yes, we need residency requirement. But we have enough right now to prosecute policemen to hold somebody down 8 minutes and 46 seconds. A man said to me i think a lot of people are confused. I was working out, i work out in the mornings, man said to me, white fella in the place i was working out, he said, reverend al i see on tv and youre always talking about race. I said, yeah. He said, but havent we come a long way . Yeah, but you got to understand how far we have to go and how deep it is. He said, what do you mean . I said, about eight, nine years ago, newspaper in new york did a background on my family and i found that my greatgrandfather was a slave in south carolina, i went down there with the newspaper and other press, and we went to the graveyard, and my greatgrandfather was owned by the family of strom thurmond. I went to the graveyard and there was a tombstone and about a quarter of the cemetery, the tombstone and i said, you mean all of these . They said, wait a minute, the plantation of your greatgrandfather was about a mile away, they buried the slaves there, they only put pebbles over their graves. It occurred to me every time i write my name, sir, thats not my name, thats the name of who owned my greatgrandfather. Thats how deep race is, that every time i write my name im writing America History of what happened to my people. I cant talk about what my greatgrandparents did, they were enslaved. And were still being treated less than others. And until america comes to terms for what it has done and what it did, we will not be able to heal because youre not recognizing the wound. Floyd could have been anybody. But then, the reaction was not anything, because somewhere i read in the bible, that god said he would pull out his spirit, among all flesh, and thats why when i heard them talking about they never thought they would see young whites marching like theyre marching now, all over the world, i have seen grandchildren of slave masters, tearing down slave master statues over in england and put it in the river. I pull out my spear among all flesh. I have seen whites walking past curfews, saying, black lives matter. No justice, no peace. You lived to now where youve sown wickedness. A man sows, shall he also reap. So we come because god in his own way, he always wanted a minister said it right, god always uses unlikely people. To do his will. For george floyd had been an Ivy League School graduate, and one of these ones with the long title, we would have been accused of reacting to his prominence. If he had been a multimillionaire they would have said that we were reacting to his wealth. If he had been famous athlete as he was on the trajectory to be, we would have said we were reacting to his fame. But god took an ordinary brother from the third ward, from the housing projects, that nobody thought much about but those who knew him and loved him, he took the rejected stone, the stone that the builder rejected, they rejected him for jobs, they rejected him for positions, they rejected him from certain teams, god took the rejected stone and made him the corner stone of a movement thats going to change the whole wide world. Im glad he wasnt one of these polished brothers, we still would have thought we were of no value but george was just george, and now you have have t understand that value to all of us. If you had any idea that all of us would react, you would have taken your knee off his neck. If you had any idea that everybody from those in the third ward to those in hollywood would show up in houston and minneapolis and in fayetteville, north carolina, you would have took your knee off his neck. If you have any idea that preachers white and black were going to line up in a pandemic, when were told to stay inside and we come out and march in the streets at the risk of our health, you would have took you thought his neck didnt mean nothing. But god made his neck to connect his head to his body, and you have no right to put your knee on that neck. Genesis 2 said that god formed m man. And they say he breathed breath. The breath of life to make him a live human being. Which means that breath comes from god. Breath is how god gives you life. Breath is not some coincidental kind of thing that happens. Breath is a divine decision that god made. Some babies are born stillborn. God decides to blow breath in them. Breath is sanctified. Breath is sacred. You dont have the right to take gods breath out of anybody. You cant put breath in their body. But you dont look at it that way because of your wickedness. Principalities. Darkness. You sit now trying to figure out how youre going to stop the protests rather than how youre going to stop the brutality. You are calling your cabinet in trying to figure out how its going to affect your vote rather than how its going to affect our lives. Youre scheming on how you can spin the story rather than you can achieve justice, wickedness in high places. You take rubber bullets and tear gas to clear out Peaceful Protesters and then take a bible and walk in front of a church and use a church as a prop. Wickedness in high places. You aint been walking across that street when the church didnt have the boards up. You wasnt holding up no bible when arbery was killed in brunswick, when taylor was killed in louisville. Wickedness in high places. But god got some people that will stand up. Let me tell you this, jesus told the story that there was a man laying by the side of the road. Hed been robbed and beaten. They said one man came by. That was the same race. His fellow brother. And he kept walking. Then another man came by that was wellred ad in the scriptur. Knew every scripture. Knew how to quote the book back and forward, but he only quoted the book. He never lived by the book. And he kept walking. But jesus said a third man came by. And he stopped and looked at the man. He wasnt the same race. Wasnt the same religion, but he picked the man up and he took care of restoring the man to his rightful being. And jesus called him the good samaritan. The problem is too many of you been walking by the eric gardners, been walking by the trayvon martins, been walking by the arberys. Been walking by. And now we stopped for george floyd. And i am in houston today because i dont want nobody to call me a passerby. Jamie here because hes not a passerby. All of you are here because we not passerbys. And we going to be back in minneapolis when the trials start because you may pack the police union on one side, but the righteous is going to be on the other side of that courtroom. Its time that we reclaim the righteous in this country. We dont know if weve got the money, weve got the political power. Well, weve got the vote. And we got something that we had before we had the vote. We had god on our side. Thats why when they was even in slavery, they used to have church out in the slave quarters because they understood that if they called on god, that god would answer prayer. And the same god that brought us from channel slavery is still on the throne. The same god that brought us from the back of the bus is still on the throne. The same god that brought us from jim crow is still on the throne. And if we are right, hell fight our battle, and well put georges name in history where they say thats the one that they shouldnt have touched. Thats the neck they shouldnt have been down on. Because if my people call by my name, would humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from your wicked ways, then you will hear from heaven. I want to say we have said we are going to keep marching. Were going to keep protesting. August 28th, were going to washington by the tens of thousands. Were going to have a National March on the anniversary of i have a dream. The floyd family and the other families are going to lead it. But i want to say this before i leave to the floyd family. Dont ever forget in your darkest hour that, be not dismayed. Whatever betide, god will take care of you. Beneath his wing a love abide. God will take care of you. I was like floyd. I grew up with daddy gone. Mama had to make it with welfare checks. I used to go and shop with the food stamps. A lot of folks say that, but the way i know philonise if youve been on food stamps, i asked you what color was your food stamps. If you dont know the different colors, youre just fronting. But i used to slip the little gray slip so my Little Friends wouldnt know im on food stamps. But mama told me something i never forgot. She said, he may not be there when you want them, but hes always on time. The lord will make a way i can tell you 40 years later he walks with me. He talks with me. He tells me that im his own. Hes been fooled when i was hungry. When i was thirsty, hes my rock. My sword and shield my will in the middle of the will, hes the lily of the valley the bright and morning star he woke me up this morning started me on my way yes yes yes let me say this. Weve got to go to the cemetery. Let me say this. I saw Michael Brown sr. Here. And i thought about i told him this story. 9 11 happened. Congressman green, and we were all flustered in new york. They closed down the bridges. Closed down the streets. Closed the trains. I had to walk all the way to my headquarters of National Action network. When we got there, there were people everywhere. Cell phones was down and people came to our headquarters to see if we could tell them what was happening, whether we were out of danger. And for the First Time Since i was a little boy, i started preaching as bishop said since i was a little boy. And i always had something to say. But the first time in my life, i couldnt find words to say. And jimmy, i went in my office. Trying to figure out, what could i say . And i thought about this old preacher told me this story. He said, al, i had to preach one sunday, the early service, and i started reading this novel about 8 00 that night. And i got so into it that i couldnt put the novel down. I looked at the clock. It was 10 00. I wanted to go to bed, but i couldnt put the novel down. It was so intriguing, and i kept reading. Turned and looked again, it was 11 30. Ive got to get some rest. Ive got to get up too early. But i couldnt put it down. I kept reading. Finally, it was after midnight. And he said that, al, ive got to tell the truth. I decided then i would cheat, and i turned to the end of the book to find out how the story was going to end. I want you to know on 9 11 2001, i want the family to know like i told Michael Browns family that afternoon, i cheated. I sat in my office and i took my bible out and i turned to the end of the book. And i know how this story is going to end. The first will be last. The last will be first. The lion and the lamb is going to lay down together, and god will take care of his children. Weve got some difficult days ahead, but i know how the story is going to end. Theres going to be justice for george floyd. Theres going to be justice for eric garner. This story wont end like this. God will never leave us nor forsake us. Ive been to the end of the book. Lets fight on. Lets stand together. Let us not leave this family now that this ceremony is over. This is the beginning of the fight. This is not the end of the fight. George, i read on the front page of the New York Times this morning. You said you wanted to touch the world. Well, god had already made you for that. But you didnt touch it in a Basketball Court or football court. God had Something Else for you to do. Because all over the world, george, they are marching with your name. You touched the world in south africa. You touched the world in england. Youve touched every one of the 50 states, even in a pandemic. People are walking out in the streets not even following social distancing because youve touched the world. And as we lay you to rest today, the movement wont rest until we get justice. Until we have one standard of justice. Your family is going to miss you, george, but your nation is going to always remember your name because your neck was one that represented all of us. And how you suffered represented our suffering. So were going to lay you near your mama now. You called for mama. Were going to lay your body next to hers. But i know mamas already embraced you, george. You fought a good fight. You kept the faith. You finished your course. Go on and get your rest now. Go on and see mama now. We going to fight on. We going to fight on. We going to fight on. Praise the lord. I wrote this song 20 years ago, and i never thought id sing it for a gamechanger. Ive got so much to thank god for so many wonderful blessings and so many open doors alone with each new day thats why i praise you and for this i give you wave your hand if you know youre blessed. Wave your hand if you know youre blessed. Thats why i pray for letting me see the sunshine thats why i pray if youre a worshiper, get on your feet. Each new day thats why i praise you lord, thats why i praise you for this i give you praise thats why i praise thats why i praise thats why i praise so many times you rescued me you give to me each day thats why i praise lord, thats why i praise you for this i give you has anybody in here ever had to praise god when you were in the valley with tears in your eyes . Take them to the valley. For every mountain sing it for george. Sing it for george. You brought me over every trial. For every trial lord, you see me through for every bless my soul says hallelujah take me to the valley. For this i give you i give you praise praise god on the mountaintop. Come on. Take me to the mountain youve seen me through i give you praise for every mountain youve brought me out for every trial you bring me through hallelujah i give you praise for every mountain for every trial you lead me through i sing hallelujah i give you praise every mountain you brought me over for every trial you see me through hallelujah for every mountain you brought me over for every trial you see me through i give you praise if you will maintain order for just a few more moments, weve come to the termination of this celebration of life. And to god be the glory for the life of george floyd jr. The singers have just told us that we need to give god praise. The bible says that let everything that has breath praise the lord. Let everything in this room on behalf of george floyd that have breath praise the lord even right now. Lets praise god for georges life, for his legacy, for his memory. As we prepare to leave from this place, there are a few matters of order that must be considered as we prepare to leave. Im going to ask everyone to please take your seat at this time. Everyone will you please take your seat at this time. Thank you so very much. As we take our seats now, were going to terminate this service, allowing the family to leave first. And then because we must maintain order and get the family to the cemetery in an appropriate amount of time, the ushers are in the aisles, and theyre going to dismiss each section, singularly. Were going to ask that you will stay in your seat until the usher has made it clear that it is time for your section to recess to leave the sanctuary. Going to ask that you would do that. And it has been requested that you will go immediately to your cars so that we can allow everyone to clear off of the campus of the fountain of praise as expeditiously as possible. We must maintain order. We must get this done so that the family can get to the cemetery, and we can lay this body to the ground as we have celebrated his life in such grand fashion. Thank you, church, for being the church that you have been throughout this time. Thank you beloved community for hearing what we have asked of you and responding accordingly. Were going to leave from this place now. And as we do, we again celebrate what god has done by giving to us the life of george floyd jr. The bible says the lord give eths. The lord take ethsth away. Help me bless the lord as the family stands and prepares to dismiss from this place at this time. Funeral directors, we are following your directions. And all other members of the congregation will remain seated until the ushers have dismissed you. Thank you so very much. Will you make your presentation at this time . Ft. Bend funeral home. If everyone else will remain seated. Just the family in this section right here in the center so well be decent and in order. Well ask the family to follow the direction of ft. Bend Funeral Services. I shall wear a crown i shall see your face i shall see his face one day i will i will i cant wait to get there when its all over i shall wear a crown yes, we will i shall wear a crown when its all over when its all over i shall see one of these days i will see his face see his face i cant wait to see his face one of these days hes going to come back when its all over i will tell the story how i made it over yes i will i will tell the story tell the story one more time. Im going to put on my robe tell the story im going to put on my robe and tell the story how i made it over if you are exiting the building, we ask that you respectfully exit through the side doors here at the front. The family is going through the center aisle. Please do not crowd the family any further. Please exit through the side doors here. I dont see nobody moving this way. I need people to move this way. Or i need you to move that way towards the front. Amen. Well keep order in place. Amen. Thank you, lord. Thank you. Yes, yes. There we go. Yes, and you can come around to the front if you want to catch up with someone there through the lobby. Please exit. Thank you. George floyd say his name george floyd what do we want . Justice. We will breathe we will breathe we have been watching, listening, and we have been moved by the stirring funeral for george floyd here in houston, texas. As we watch the casket of the 46yearold loaded into the back of the hearse. It will take a 15mile drive to pearland, texas. A live look above whats going to be quite the motorcade were told. Pearland, texas. That is mr. George lloyd will rest in eternity next to his mother. We are told that the last part of the procession will be via horsedrawn carriage. Again, a roughly 15mile drive here in houston, texas. They will get that Police Escort that they have had over the last few days here. Our panel is back with me. Jonathan capehard, Nicole Hannah jones as well. A service that lasted roughly three hours. It was, at times, a traditional funeral, a memorial service. It was at times a traditional sunday service. It was part gospel concert. But it was all as promised, jonathan. It was a call to action as well. Reverend sharpton once again, as he did in minneapolis, making mention of that march thats going to happen in august, on the 57th anniversearies of the i have a dream speech. Also promising to be in the courtroom as well when the officers charged with floyds death go to trial. If there was a thesis, if there was a thesis, nicole, it might have been god took an ordinary brother from the third ward who had been rejected and made him the cornerstone of a movement. What stood out most to you over the last three hours . Yeah, i think thats a great way of putting it. I was thinking about how, in many ways, george floyd was an ordinary man who has been made extraordinary because of what happened. And that here was someone who struggled in his life to make a difference and the impact that he really wanted to. And now hell be talked about as one of those inflection points in american history. Hell be a name that will be long remembered as sparking this latest movement. And i think the other things that stood out for me, reverend sharpton delivered that kind of fiery oratory that many of us have known him for. And he was calling out everyone. You know, preachers who are willing to stand on the sidelines and not speak out politically. The civil rights attorneys who some of them profit off black death. He called out the nfl and saying, you know, now you want to make statements about black lives but Colin Kaepernick still doesnt have a job. He called out corporations. And he also did what is so important. He tied this struggle, what were seeing today, to this 400year struggle of black resistance. It covered every emotion. Deep grief, rage, and determination. Jonathan capehart, it was, as nicole just pointed out, it was, at times, a political service. I mean, reverend al making no bones about the fact that Colin Kaepernick should get his job back. Noted how long it had taken the nfl commissioner Roger Goodell to say that black lives matter, which he did this week. It should be noted after mitt romney said it as well. But jonathan, hearing reverend sharpton talk about the wickedness in high places. What did you make of that . It was clear who reverend sharpton was talking about. He didnt even have to name him name the president. People understood who he was talking about. And the one pointed example of that was when reverend sharpton pointed out that the president had time to tweet out about condolences to the family, which, you know, only goes so far. But the president has not said anything about the 8 46 of officer chauvins knee on George Floyds neck. And that is because we all saw it with our own eyes. Even if youve seen a still of the video, you saw what happened to george floyd. And what happened to him is calling out, as nicole was just talking about, for greater action on so many levels. You have people talking about getting out and voting. Getting out and making their voices heard beyond marching in the streets and protesting. That theres more work to do. I thought it was very moving and eloquent, to add on to what nicole just said, that or maybe it was you, but reverend sharpton making it clear that after the cameras are gone, hes still going to hes going to be in the courtroom. Hes going to still be with those families because he knows, because hes been to so many of these funerals and been with so many of these families who have gone through unexpected tragedy, losing a son. Losing a daughter. That he knows what these families are going to go through once what were looking at in houston is no longer front and center of our attention. Once the cameras have left the streets of the familys home. Once they are by themselves again and dealing with the pain and the loss and the grieving that comes, not only from losing someone you love, but losing someone you love so suddenly and so publicly that its going to require a lot of strength from them, but then the movement that has been unleashed as a result of George Floyds murder in minneapolis. That there are now millions of people in the United States who have felt as a calling, this call to action to be in the streets of americas cities and not so large cities also to make their voices heard and to say what happened to george floyd, what happened to breonna taylor, what happened to ahmaud arbery, whats happening to our country as a result of the coronavirus, which is disproportionately impacting africanamericans, to the economic collapse which we saw from the unemployment numbers is the unemployment numbers for africanamericans, latino americans. Still went up compared to last month that there are many things for americans to be angry about. To want to fight for their country. To change the direction and george floyd, through his unwitting sacrifice, has brought us down this road. And to come full circle, back to the president , you know, at times like these, we have seen president s use moments like these to bring the country together. Especially a moment so public, so tragic. And yet with this president , we have not seen that. We have not heard that. And, in fact, when there were Peaceful Protesters just outside the white house, not only did he set up a barricade of military police and park police but he pushed them back in a very aggressive fashion that insulted George Floyds memory but also shook the consciousness of people who might have not seen the protests as their protests but suddenly saw with their own eyes the lengths to which the president of the United States would go to to further his own agenda, despite the murder of an american citizen. Professor wiley, he has, of course, in death, become a symbol of so much in our country. But he was also remembered as a father. A father of five. He was remembered as a brother. He was remembered as a nephew. His aunt describing him as a pesky little rascal. But i was also struck by his niece. This is just part of what she said, professor wiley. Here she is. This is brooke. My uncle was a father, brother, uncle and a cousin to many. Spiritually grounded and activist. He always moved people with his words. The officer showed no remorse watching my uncles soul leave his body. He begged and pleaded many times just for you to get up, but you just pushed harder. Why must this system be corrupt and broken . Laws were already put in place for the africanamerican system to fail. These laws need to be changed. No more hate crimes, please. Someone said make America Great again, but when has america ever been great . Professor wiley, so young, but so wise, brooke williams. Brooke williams is exactly the future that we are seeing marching in our presence. All the demonstrations that we have seen across the country have many, many people who are young, who are fierce, who are angry, who are telling the nation. In fact, we had people around the globe telling their own nations and other nations that this epidemic, this pandemic of Police Violence has to stop. And to call forth as she did, directly and specifically she said you. She called out officer chauvin, not by name, but she said you, the first person as if she was talking directly at him about his tremendous lack of humanity and the incredible injustice of her uncles death. And it really linked, i think, both so powerfully to the activism that i think we heard from almost every Single Family member in some way, even as they were remember iing the man, as s aunt was reminding us, a human, a father. But it also struck me how specific we heard the link to a history of racism in this country. And we heard it in a couple of different places. Specifically, we heard it from a white pastor from steve wells who said, you know, racism is essentially driving using fear to drive out love rather than having love drive out fear. And that was such a direct reference to exactly what were seeing in policing and also to the tolerance of police abuse that weve seen in this country for so many decades and generations. And then reverend al sharpton did it in such a direct and powerful way through storytelling when he said, every time i write my name, i am inscribing history. By which he meant, my name, and most of us who are africanamerican in this country, our names are the names of slavery. And that that calling connection between a failure of justice, if it is white Police Officers killing people who are black, the failure of a system of laws that we heard from these family members, and the failing of law that we saw visibly when reverend al sharpton called on the family members of other black men and women who have been killed by police that we literally saw the physical embodiment of the failure of justice. He called it out very directly, but so did others. I thought it was incredibly powerful. It was incredibly emotional, and it had both humanity. It had anger and pain, but it was very clearly a call to say, we will not stand for this any longer. It was so incredibly moving, professor wiley. I actually want to play it for folks who may have missed it. This was that moment you were talking about. I must also recognize several families that are here that came at great sacrifice, but they wanted to be here to be part of this because they understand the pain better than anyone because theyve gone through the pain. And i think that we should recognize the mother of trayvon martin. Will you stand . The mother of eric garner, will you stand . The sister of bothem jean, will you stand. The family of Pamela Turner right here in houston. Will you stand . The father of Michael Brown from ferguson, missouri. Will you stand . The father of ahmaud arbery, will you stand . 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 that they have gone through. It is a club that no mother or father wants to be a part of. Theyve created a support system for themselves in this country. We are watching this motorcade make its way from the church here in houston to the cemetery. Roughly 15 miles away. Nbcs Steve Patterson is outside houston memorial gardens, that cemetery where george floyd will be laid to rest in nearby pearland, texas. Steve, the family and george floyd, they are headed your way. I understand that folks have been gathering there for some time. Craig, yeah. All these past two weeks, weve seen an incredible level of dedication. People rallying. People marching. People fighting. People pushing for reform in their City Councils across the country. Across the world. Today in front of this cemetery is no different. I want to show you right here. Maybe hundreds on the street lining the street now waiting for that procession to roll here. Some of these faces ive seen here since the a. M. , the morning. It is 96 degrees. Im looking at my phone. And it says with the humidity, its about 106. Ive seen very young people in this crowd. Ive seen very old people in this crowd. All of them agree that no matter what, this moment in history is so important. Just to get a glimpse of the procession of george floyd. That its worth risking being in a heat advisory on the street. An incredible level of dedication as we await that motorcade to come this way. At the end of it, the last mile of it, it will be a horsedrawn carriage that well see come through this way. So an incredible sight no doubt. But the dedication, the tenacity, the ability to sit through this level of heat to do this, listening while listening to al sharpton and listening to people in the church and feeling those words. Its incredible. Craig . Steve patterson, thank you. Nicole hannah jones, Jonathan Capehart, a big thanks to you. And professor wiley. A big thanks to my panel and a big thanks to you for spending the last few hours with us as we watch and listen to the funeral of george floyd here in houston, texas. We are going to take a quick break. That does it for our special coverage. Nicolle wallace will pick things up after a short break. George floyd is being laid to rest at this hour following a moving Funeral Service in his hometown of houston. One that honored his memory and his legacy, a revolution in his name. We are joined by eddie glaude. Your thoughts about what you just saw. Nicolle, i think we just saw the latest in a long line of public rituals of grieving. We have seen these funerals before. Three things came to mind as i watched the service. Grief, faith and hope. We have to deal with the fact that this family has to put george floyd in the grave. And i kept thinking of 1 corinthians 15. Death, where is thy sting . Grave, where is thy victory . That we have to deal with the fact that they are confronting intimate loss. We can make george floyd a symbol, but he was their brother. He wise their uncle, their cousin, their family. And we have to deal with that fact. So i saw grief. And i also saw faith that the way in which you grapple with the grave, the body in the coffin, has everything to do at least in this context with their belief and their tradition. We saw appeals to their to the christian belief that death does not have the last word. And we saw it performed. We saw the fullness of the black church in that service, which was beautiful. But you know, faith, when you think about hebrews. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen which leads me to hope. You know, that there is the hope that George Floyds death, as Jonathan Capehart said earlier, his unwilling sacrifice will actually generate profound change. But then i was reminded of w. B. Dubois famous line. He said its a hope not unhopeful but not hopeless, but hopeful. Eye hope not hopeless, but unhopeful. Its a bluessoaked hope with no guarantee well fundamentally transform this country. Theres this sense of thinking about this ritual of grief that we have seen before with elements of grief, faith and hope against the backdrop of Donald Trumps talk that theres no systemic racism in american policing. The way in which they deny the reality of the problem in the country. Thats the juxtaposition thats in my head as i try to grieve with the family today. The juxtaposition is something in everybodys head, thrust there by donald trump and his insistence on he doesnt, you know, hide the banana in this case. He has stood at the podium in front of his maga rallies telling everyone not to believe what they see with their eyes. Not to believe what they hear with their ears. Describing the press as fake news. So what do you think it see it the way you see it . That this has shifted so quickly, that never before are in the eyes of, in the words of the rev and others, have the marchers been so diverse in age. In race, in agengender. And regional. Gl you know, it suggests that were on the precipice of some fundamental transformation. We stand at the cross roads as ive said to you before. But theres no guarantee. The country is still deeply divided. James baldwin was fond of saying, fond is the wrong verb. He said all the time, one of the most frustrating things about being black in america is having to convince white people that whats happening to us is actually real. So we see in real time, donald trump deny iing the facts of th matter and we see in real time his base believing it. Thinking that this is just a one off. That the reality of systemic racial bias and policing at the depth of the problem in the criminal Justice System is just simply us reveling or waddling in our victimhood, right . So the challenge before us is still there. The murder of george floyd didnt resolve the deep partisan divides. Covid19 didnt end how those divides play along the lines of racial divisions. Our country stands on a knifes edge and we have to recognize that. Even as we see a family grieve, rely on its faith and hope and pray that the country will actually live up to the true meaning of its ideals and principles. Were also joined by alexi who stood on the front lines of both crisis, coronavirus as well as the demonstrations, the peaceful ones and in the earliest days, some of the ones that were out of control for a few moments in those earliest nights. Tell us what you heard from the leaders you interviewed. Thank you for having me, nicole. Thats right. I spoke with the Atlanta Mayor for our hbo show for axios and she really em bbodies this kindf competing power struggle that she has within her. Shes the mayor of one of the Great American cities. Navigating atlanta not just through the coronavirus but u really overtaking the country and the world in light of George Floyds killing. Shes also a black mother raising four black children in america, even though she holds socalled position of power, she feels powerless solely because of the color of their skin. I think thats a really fascinating dynamic to hear an elected official say outloud because thats really whats underpinning this. No matter the shape of the protests or what they might not understand, its that lived plaque experience even when you achieve a position of power. Even again being mayor, you still feel unsafe because of the racial divides in this country. And its something she talked about that first night when she went down i think near the cnn center and said go home. And he was speaking as a leader. She was speaking as a mother. This fear that she has r articulated has been articulated by eddie. By michael steel, maya wily. Is there optimism that people can be made to understand it even if they dont live it . You know, there is optimism at least in some of the conversations ive had. I also got to interview a congresswoman from florida. Congressman jim clyburn. They said they feel whats different is that theres broader buy in. Not just from black folks but from people of all stripes, in way they havent had in the past. Thats a way of getting to move past change. Getting buy ins from all parts of the county tr. Na matter what you might look like. Its about really getting into understanding that experience. I think part of getting the optimism in the hope that people will understand even if they havent is the mayor sharing stories like she has. Eddie sharing stories. Michael steel and others really educating americans about what life is like for a lot of us when were just trying to make it by like the rest of us. Let me ask both of you one last question. Our colleague, al sharpton, i have sat moved to tears at times, laughter, but moved for all of his eulogies. The things he says stick in your head. You dont let them go. What do you think of the body of what hes had to surmise this week . Tragedy. Bluntness. Straight talk. There are people here today that wont be here next week when the cameras are gone. What role does he have in everything weve seen play out . You know, i think that this moment more than anything calls for leadership and not leadership in who can shut down the protests the fastest, but in who can navigate the competing crisis that the country is facing. Not just the crisis, but the competing emotions as you alluded to, nicole. We need someone whos going to be able to make sense of whats going on but whos going to offer words of hope that we can cling cling on to to move forward. So its a critically Important Role to understand this as the r rev does from the inside out, but the Bigger Picture of how we can move forward together. And eddie, i think something he does master fly is he brings everybody into the conversation. Theres no shaming people for their ignorance. Theres just understanding. Blunt, Brutal Honesty and incredible sympathy and compassion for all the families. All the families in that church today stand up, i mean youd have to have no heart to not be in tears seeing that spectacle. Yeah. I mean hes a preacher after all. And he has to have that capacity. You know what i mean . But i think in these sorts of moments, what were trying, whats so needed, nicole, is language. How do we give, how do we express the nature of our experience . Im always quoting baldwin on your show. He has a line dont ever stop. Dont ever stop. For the negro experience, theres seld m a language that can account for it. You know what i mean sm so what we need in this moment is somebody b to find the language to put in words what were feeling. What is has happened. And when approximate it, theres a shift. A move at the gut, a possible shift in the center of gravity of ones moral orientation to the world. So reverend als charge, our charge is to reach for a language that can speak oth humanity of those who are witnessing from the outside. Right. So that they can actually access it and then hopefully move to change the world as we currently see it. Oh, eddie. As always, you have put it so perfectly. I could talk to you guys forever. Eddie, alexi, thank you so much for spending a little bit of time with us. Msnbcs coverage continues with chuck todd after a quick break. Chuck todd after a quick break dn from vmware helps you redefine whats possible. Now. From the hospital shifting to remote patient care in just 48 hours. To the university moving hundreds of apps quickly to the cloud. 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