The Rev. Al Sharpton remembers George Floyd as an ‘ordinary brother’ who changed the world

George Floyd was an “ordinary brother” from Houston’s housing projects who “nobody thought much about,” which makes his central role in a generational movement that much more powerful, the Rev. Al Sharpton said at his funeral Tuesday.

“God took the rejected stone and made him the cornerstone of a movement that’s going to change the whole wide world,” Sharpton said.

“Your family is going to miss you George, but your nation is going to always remember your name. Because your neck was one that represents all of us, and how you suffered is how we all suffer,” he added.

Sharpton was one of a number of family, friends and prominent figures who gathered at The Fountain of Praise Church in Houston on Tuesday to celebrate Floyd’s life and issue a clarion call for justice.

The service featured remarks by former Vice President Joe Biden, Rep. Al Green of Texas, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. Family members of other black people killed by police, including Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, attended as well.

Actor Jamie Foxx was in the audience and R&B artist Ne-Yo performed a rendition of “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” by Boyz II Men. Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather is handling all the expenses for Floyd’s funeral.

Family members spoke about Floyd as a “gentle giant,” and friends from high school and beyond fondly recalled his athletic prowess in football and basketball.

Pallbearers bring George Floyd's casket into the Fountain of Praise church in Houston on Tuesday, June 9. Floyd will be buried next to his mother, according to the?Fort Bend Memorial Planning Center.

A man carries a child while paying respects at Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland, Texas, Floyd's final resting place.

A horse-drawn carriage carries Floyd's casket to Houston Memorial Gardens.

People watch the funeral procession pass by after Floyd's service on Tuesday.

People lined up to watch the procession and yelled "George Floyd" and "say his name."

LaTonya Floyd gets emotional while speaking during her brother's funeral on Tuesday.

The Rev. Al Sharpton delivers a eulogy on Tuesday. "Your family's going to miss you, George, but your nation is going to always remember your name," Sharpton said. "Because your neck was one that represented all of us."

Floyd's family is wearing white at the funeral.

R&B artist Ne-Yo sings at the service. He performed a rendition of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday."

Actors Channing Tatum, left, and Jamie Foxx attend the funeral.

Pastor Kim Burrell sings "God Will Take Care of You" during Tuesday's service.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner hands Floyd's family a proclamation during Tuesday's funeral. Turner proclaimed that June 9 will be "George Perry Floyd Day" in the city of Houston.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee, speaks at the funeral via video. "We cannot leave this moment thinking we can again turn away from racism that stings at our very soul, from systematic abuse that still plagues American life," Biden said.

Mourners react as Floyd's extended family walks into his funeral service on Tuesday.

Members of the Texas Southern University Police Department pause during Floyd's funeral.

A young girl attends Floyd's funeral.

People pay their respects at a Floyd memorial in Houston on Tuesday.

Mourners arrive at the Fountain of Praise church for Floyd's public visitation on Monday.

People visit Floyd's casket on Monday.

People line up to attend Floyd's public viewing in Houston. To comply with social-distancing rules, only 15 masked guests were allowed inside the church at a time.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pays his respects at Floyd's casket. "Today is a sad day. Ever since his death has been a sad day," Abbott told reporters outside the church. "This is the most horrific tragedy I have ever personally observed. But George Floyd is going to change the arc of the future of the United States. George Floyd has not died in vain. His life will be a living legacy about the way that America and Texas respond to this tragedy."

People grieve near Floyd's casket on Monday.

A woman holds flowers as she waits in line in Houston.

A man in Houston wears a mask honoring Floyd.

Ushers guide mourners into the church for Floyd's public visitation in Houston.

Children pose in front of a bus depicting abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

A hearse carries Floyd's casket on Monday.

Members of a local Black Cowboys club ride their horses through the parking lot outside a Floyd memorial service in Raeford, North Carolina, on Saturday.

Mourners pray as they hold up their arms during the service in Raeford.

Nakia Almond hugs Erin Corner after praying together outside of Floyd's memorial service in Raeford.

Flowers surround Floyd's casket at his public viewing in Raeford.

Mourners arrive for Floyd's public viewing in Raeford.

Floyd's casket is brought into a church ahead of his memorial service in Raeford.

Floyd's sisters Zsa-Zsa, left, and LaTonya walk away after addressing the media in Raeford.

A hearse carrying Floyd's casket departs after his memorial service in Minneapolis on Thursday.

Floyd's relatives attend his memorial service in Minneapolis.

People at the Minneapolis memorial stood in silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds -— the length of time that Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing Floyd, had his knee on Floyd's neck. At center here is Floyd's cousin Shareeduh Tate, who grew up with him and spoke during the service.

Thursday's service took place inside a sanctuary at North Central University.

The Rev. Al Sharpton delivers a eulogy at Thursday's memorial. "George Floyd should not be among the deceased," Sharpton said. "He did not die of common health conditions. He died of a common American criminal-justice malfunction."

Floyd's brother Philonise speaks at the memorial service in Minneapolis. He said George had "touched many hearts" and that the audience was a testament of that. "Everybody wants justice, we want justice for George," Philonise said. "He's going to get it."

A woman reacts during Thursday's service.

Actor Kevin Hart, left, and rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges were among those in attendance.

People stand outside to show their support during Floyd's service in Minneapolis.

Scott Hagan, the president of North Central University, announced the creation of the George Floyd memorial scholarship. He said that he's already received over $52,000 in contributions. "It is time to invest like never before in a new generation of young black Americans who are poised and ready to take leadership of our nation," Hagan said.

Mourners spend a moment at Floyd's casket ahead of the service.

US Rep. Ilhan Omar was at the service in Minneapolis.

US Sen. Amy Klobuchar talks with the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the service.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey attends the service. He kneeled at Floyd's casket before the service started, breaking out into tears.

People gather outside the service.

Martin Luther King III, right, arrives with his family.

Floyd's casket is wiped down in the sanctuary hours before the service.

Floyd's casket is moved ahead of the service.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, right, kneels with another officer as Floyd's body passes by.

In pictures: Remembering George Floyd

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The funeral came two weeks after Floyd was killed while in Minneapolis police custody. His death sparked protests in the US and around the world, which have called for changes in policing and law enforcement’s relationship with black and brown communities.

Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, drew from his Catholic faith to offer words of empathy to Floyd’s family and implored Americans to take on the fight of racial justice.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got to deal with the denial of the promise of this nation to so many people for so long,” Biden said in a message delivered via video. “It’s about who we are, what we believe, and maybe most importantly, who we want to be.”

Floyd’s body was escorted by the Houston Police Department into Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland. A white horse-drawn carriage carried his casket for about a mile to his final resting place.

A gold casket with Floyd's remains was taken to the burial site in Pearland on a white carriage.

It was followed by a second carriage with two large football balloons and a poster that read “Jack Yates 88” – a reference to Floyd’s high school alma mater and his football jersey number.

People lined up to watch the procession and yelled “George Floyd” and “Say his name” as the carriage passed by.

He was buried next to his mother – who Floyd called out for in his final moments.

“You called for mama. We’re going to lay your body next to hers,” Sharpton said. “But I know mama’s already embraced you, George. You fought a good fight. You kept the faith. You finished your course. Go on and get your rest now. Go on and see mama now. We’re going to fight on.”

Biden: ‘We must not turn away’

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden spoke via video link at the funeral service on Tuesday in Houston.

The service was a celebration of Floyd’s life, said Mia K. Wright, the co-pastor of The Fountain of Praise church.

“In the tradition of the African-American church, this will be a home-going celebration,” Wright said.

“Now you know what that means, that means foot-stomping, toe-tapping, shouting ‘Hallelujah,’ praising God, because we are celebrating his life,” Dr. Remus Wright added.

In Biden’s speech, he addressed Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter, Gianna, and called on Americans to look through her eyes and question why racial injustice exists.

“Looking through your eyes, we should also be asking ourselves why the answer is so often too cruel and painful,” he said. “Why, in this nation, do too many black Americans wake up knowing that they could lose their life in the course of just living their life? Why does justice not roll like a river or righteousness like a mighty stream? Why?

“Ladies and gentlemen, we can’t turn away. We must not turn away. We cannot leave this moment thinking, we can once again turn away from racism,” said Biden, the expected Democratic nominee for president.

Rodney Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, speaks during the funeral service at The Fountain of Praise church on Tuesday.

Rep. Jackson Lee likened Floyd to the Biblical figures of Jesus and the prophet Isaiah.

“We know that centuries ago, they took a man, wicked men, put him on the cross. (They) did not understand that though they were intending wickedness, that out of much intention of wickedness came goodness,” she said Tuesday.

“Your loved one, George Floyd, this secular world failed in its duty to intervene, failed in its duty to act, and failed in its duty to aid. But George Floyd answered the question in death when it was asked in Isaiah, ‘Who should I send?’ Oh God have mercy on us, there was a tall man by the name of Big Floyd who stood up and said ‘send me.’”

Floyd’s life in Houston

Family members react as they view the casket during the funeral of George Floyd on Tuesday at The Fountain of Praise church in Houston, Texas.

Floyd was born in North Carolina, where hundreds of people lined up Saturday for a public viewing of his casket. Floyd graduated from Jack Yates High School in Houston in 1992, where he helped the football team win the state title. He also played basketball as a power forward.

Before moving to Minneapolis, Floyd was well known in the Houston music scene, rapping with a group called Screwed Up Clik (SUC).

Related article Thousands of mourners visit George Floyd's casket in Houston to pay respects.

Floyd died May 25 after former police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest.

Chauvin has been fired and charged with second-degree murder. Three other officers on the scene were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

On Monday, thousands of mourners gathered at The Fountain of Praise church to pay their respects to Floyd. The memorial was the third stop in a series of events to celebrate his life.

Floyd was a huge role model for a lot of people, his brother, Philonise Floyd, said during Monday’s visitation ceremony.

“He was the first person who everybody looked up to in our neighborhood because he was the first one to get a scholarship to go and play basketball or football when he wanted to do,” Philonise Floyd said.

Floyd was someone who also had a beautiful soul, his younger brother, Rodney Floyd, said.

“If he was told he would have to sacrifice his life to bring the world together, and knowing him, I know he would’ve did it,” Rodney Floyd said.

He added that he’s still processing the death. “It seems unreal because, you know, every day is like waiting on that phone call. I’m still calling his phone number.”

CNN’s Sara Sidner, Konstantin Toropin, Roxanne Garcia, Sarah Mucha and Jay Croft contributed to this report.