Members of George Floyd’s family lead moment of silence at Democratic convention

The family of George Floyd, whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police helped inspire nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice earlier this year, led a moment of silence at the Democratic National Convention on Monday. 

“George should be alive today. Breonna Taylor should be alive today. Ahmaud Arbery should be alive today. Eric Garner should be alive today. Stephon Clark, Atatiana Jefferson, Sandra Bland — they should all be alive today. So it’s up to us to carry on the fight,” said Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd, appearing virtually from Texas. 

“So it’s up to us to carry on the fight for justice. Our actions will be their legacies. We must always find ourselves in what John Lewis called ‘good trouble.’ For the names we do not know, the faces we will never see, those we can’t mourn because their murders didn’t go viral,” Philonise Floyd added.

The convention was then led into a moment of silence, with a number of attendees seen bowing their heads on camera. 

George Floyd’s death on May 25 helped inspire renewed protests and discussions on systemic racism and deaths in police custody across the U.S., elevating the Black Lives Matter movement. 

The movement is set to play a major role in the Democratic National Convention throughout the four-day virtual gathering. 

“The Black Lives Matter movement has given voice to the deep-seated inequality that has plagued our nation since its inception,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said in a statement. “The Democratic Party shares in their commitment to justice and hears their demands for change. When we nominate Joe Biden to be our standard-bearer, we will not miss this moment to ensure those values are reflected in everything we do.”