George Floyd's brother holds memorial services in Brooklyn | LIVE

Thursday, June 4, 2020

NEW YORK -- A memorial service for George Floyd, whose death in police custody in Minneapolis sparked nationwide protests and riots, will take place in Brooklyn on Thursday afternoon.

Terrence Floyd, brother of George Floyd, announced the memorial service for his brother on Tuesday.

"Even though you are angry, we are coming and doing this in peace," Terrence Floyd said.

The service, which will happen simultaneously with a memorial in Minneapolis, is slated for Thursday, June 4, at 1 p.m., at Cadman Plaza Park, where Floyd's family will be in attendance.

After the service, the march will work its way across the Brooklyn Bridge and end at Foley Square.

Civil Rights leader Reverend Kevin McCall will deliver words of peace at the memorial, with a march to follow.

McCall said they have extended an invite to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Shea to attend the memorial.

Terrence Floyd was in Minnesota Monday, pleading for peace while visiting the spot where his brother died, saying destruction is "not going to bring my brother back at all."

Wearing a face mask with Floyd's image on it, his brother dropped to his knees at the storefront that has been turned into a memorial covered with flowers and signs. As he knelt silently, many who were around him joined him on the ground.

The memorial site was a space of calm compared to the devastation left in the wake of fires and violence that paralyzed the city for days last week before it spread nationwide.

"I understand y'all are upset. I doubt y'all are half as upset as I am," said Terrence Floyd, who lives in Brooklyn. "So if I'm not over here blowing up stuff, if I'm not over here messing up my community, then what are y'all doing? What are y'all doing? Y'all doing nothing. Because that's not going to bring my brother back at all."

George Floyd, 46, died last week after he was arrested in Minneapolis, accused of using a forged $20 bill to pay for goods at a grocery store. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with murder.

Terrence Floyd took several minutes sitting in the spot where the officer pinned his brother, and he sobbed.

Addressing the crowd, he said he did not understand why the other three police officers who arrested Floyd and were fired with Chauvin have not been charged.

Still, he said, the Floyd family, which he described as "peaceful" and "God-fearing," wants calm protests at this time with hopes that justice will follow.

"In every case of police brutality, the same thing has been happening. Y'all protest, y'all destroy stuff. ... Let's do this another way," he said, encouraging the crowd to vote and to educate themselves. "Let's switch it up, y'all."

The list of speakers include: