On Tuesday, students and the public heard from George Floyd’s brother at Wallis Annenberg Hall.
Philonise Floyd reflected upon the love between his brother and their mother.
“When [my mom] got in a wheelchair, I watched him pick her up and they would just dance with each other,” Floyd said. “My brother was a freak of nature. I can honestly tell you that.”
The room was filled with emotion as the audience heard stories of his brother.
“It’s...great to see a really positive figure of Mr. Floyd, how positive he’s talking about his brother because you only think about the fateful day of the video,” said Alexandria Gee, a USC Annenberg graduate. “We don’t get to think about the human.”
Lee Merritt, a prominent civil rights attorney, joined Floyd on stage. He underscored the importance of understanding the victims of police brutality, arguing we should “transcend the label of a nondescript victim.”
“We’re dealing with a pushback from the right about this so-called meritocracy, right? That we should live in a society that values people,” Merritt said.
He continued, “they use a famous quote by Dr. King as to support the idea that American society would be better served if we stop considering race as a contributing factor for anything — both professional development [and] academic development — and base all of our decisions based on whoever’s most best situated to deal with the issue. And of course, that is the great dream, right?”
However, “we cannot continue to move forward in a system devoid of the historical basis for where we are,” Merritt said.
He told the audience not to back down from the opportunity to bring about positive social change. In every tragedy, Merritt said, it is important for the media to remember the human being as more than just a victim. That was one issue he saw in the coverage of George Floyd’s murder.
Floyd will always remember his brother as more than just a victim.
“I’m still gonna feel pain because I lost somebody that I love. I lost my brother,” Floyd said. “No matter who it is, if you lose somebody you love, that person, you’re gonna remember that person for the rest of your life.”