Between tears, slogans: the funeral of George Floyd, in a Texas church on Tuesday, mixed tributes to this black man killed by a white policeman and fiery calls to attack, finally, the racism that "hurts the 'soul' of America.
From family to pastors, President Donald Trump was repeatedly mistreated at this funeral in the Fountain of Praise church in Houston, where this 46-year-old African American had spent most of his life.
A figure in the civil rights struggle, Reverend Al Sharpton, who delivered the funeral praise broadcast live in millions of homes, even accused the president of "maleficence", accusing him of encouraging the police to believe themselves above the law.
On a more intimate note, the relatives of the deceased, very moved, greeted "Big George", their "superman", their "gentle giant" whose stature - almost two meters - did not prevent an agent from police suffocate him, kneeling for almost nine minutes on his neck, two weeks ago in Minneapolis, in the north of the country.
"You are forced to mourn in public, it is difficult," Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden told them in a very personal video released during the ceremony. But for him, "the time for racial justice has come".
At the end of the ceremony, hundreds of people chanting the name of George Floyd accompanied his remains, transported in a white funeral carriage to the Memorial Gardens cemetery in the suburbs of Houston. For family privacy, the press was not allowed to attend the burial.
Clean the White House
"We can no longer turn away from the racism that hurts our souls," said former Barack Obama vice president, who enjoys great popularity among black voters, earlier.
Several elected Democrats succeeded each other in the gallery, but it was George Floyd's young niece who first ventured into clearly political terrain.
"Some say they want to make America great," said Brooke Williams, referring to Donald Trump's campaign slogan. "But, when was America big?"
"The first thing we have to do is clean up the White House," added Reverend Bill Lawson shortly after, calling on the church's applause for the Americans to "vote."
The ordeal of George Floyd, whose video has gone viral, has sparked unprecedented mobilization in the United States since the civil rights struggle in the 1960s.
With the cry "Black Lives matter", calls to reform the police and tackle racial inequality have reached the world.
Police murder
After denouncing a "sad and tragic" death, President Donald Trump, who is running for a second term in November, opted for a speech of firmness, emphasizing the violence that shook several big cities last weekend of May.
Again on Tuesday, he did not have a word for George Floyd or the victims of racist violence. On the contrary, in a tweet, he questioned the credibility of a 75-year-old man recently pushed by the police during a demonstration.
Reverend Al Sharpton fiercely criticized him for the speech. "The president spoke of calling the soldiers for reinforcement" to restore calm to the United States, "but he did not have a word for the 8 minutes and 46 seconds of this police murder," he said. added, while admitting that Donald Trump had privately addressed "his sympathy" to the family.
"The message conveyed is that, if you are in the police force, the law does not apply to you", lamented the pastor, who made the relatives of Afro stand up one by one - Dead Americans killed by police, including Eric Garner or Breonna Taylor.
Interspersed with gospel songs, the funeral also saw an artist draw the face of George Floyd in white line, on a black canvas.
Rare white figure to speak, Pastor Steve Wells called out to his community: "We are better than before, but we are not as good as we should be." "You must act for more racial justice," he implored.
George Floyd now rests alongside his mother Larcenia, who died in 2018, whose nickname "Cissy" was tattooed on the chest. During his ordeal, he had begged the police officer Derek Chauvin to release him by imploring "mom".
Become the face of police brutality, the 44-year-old officer was charged with murder and is detained in a high security prison. Three of his colleagues involved in the tragedy were also arrested and charged with complicity.
