Hundreds of mourners are joining family members Thursday afternoon to remember George Floyd, the man whose death after being pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police last week has ignited an outcry around the world.
The private memorial begins at 1 p.m. at the sanctuary on the downtown Minneapolis campus of North Central University, located about 3 miles north of the intersection where the unarmed and handcuffed man was arrested on May 25.
Floyd's body arrived earlier Thursday morning in a hearse from a north Minneapolis funeral home.
Inside the sanctuary, a golden casket was flanked by white and purple flowers, and an image of a mural painted at the street corner where Floyd was pinned to the ground by police was projected above the pulpit.
Seats marked for celebrities Kevin Hart, Jamie Foxx and Tiffani Haddish. Others seats are reserved for Gov. Tim Walz, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith of Minnesota, U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald and Martin Luther King III.
Dozens of photographers and TV crews were set up across the street from where the memorial service will take place, the largest single contingent of media during the entire period of the Floyd event and aftermath.
Lester Royal, owner of a north Minneapolis construction company, arrived outside where Floyd will be memorialized with a group from New Salem Church.
"It's important for us to be here to represent justice and peace," he said. "My hope is for equality and justice for all mankind."
Tucked under conifers at Elliot Park, kitty-corner from the Trask Worship Center where the memorial will take place, homeless men huddled in tents, some covered in tarps, while throngs of cameras from national and international media stood on tripods.
Across the park, near a wading pool void of water, volunteers largely from the service industry set up tables to distribute free meals.
Organizer and local chef Christopher Martin flipped hamburgers on propane and wood grills with another volunteer.
"I just wanted to cook for some people," Martin said. "I don't have a lot of money but thought maybe people would donate."
They did.
Donations, including large ones from Nicollet Diner and USI Fiber, he said, allowed him to start grilling enough burgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers to feed about 2,500 people during the service today.
The event is the first of three this week to memorialize Floyd, a black man whose death has given added voice to the decadeslong nationwide debate over how people of color are treated by law enforcement throughout the country.
Another is scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Raeford, N.C., where the 46-year-old Floyd was born. On Tuesday, a funeral will be held in Houston, where he lived much of his life until moving to the Twin Cities about five years ago. Burial will follow that service.
In Minneapolis, the memorial is by invitation only, with attendance limited to roughly 1,000 because of social distancing restrictions due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil rights leader and founder of the National Action Network, and Floyd family attorney Ben Crump are expected to speak.
Return to startribune.com for updates on this developing story.
Star Tribune staff writers John Reinan, Rochelle Olson, Mara Klecker and Pam Louwagie, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Mourners gather for George Floyd memorial service in Minneapolis - Minneapolis Star Tribune
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