Family and friends gathered to lay George Floyd to rest in his hometown of Houston on Tuesday, with gospel and poignant tributes capping the long farewell to the 46-year-old African American whose death ignited global protests against police brutality and racism.
Politicians, civil rights activists and celebrities joined in sharing memories of the man they called a "gentle giant" before his golden casket was to be conveyed by horse-drawn carriage to his final resting place by his mother's grave.
Though it was a solemn occasion, The Fountain of Praise Church in southern Houston was filled with joyous music and words of fond remembrance for a kind and gifted man, whose savage death galvanized a worldwide movement.
Philonise Floyd puts his arm around his sister LaTonya Floyd as the family speaks during the funeral for George Floyd. Source: AAP
"George Floyd changed the world. And we are going to make the world know that he made a difference," Al Green, the local US congressman, told the congregation.
"We have a responsibility to each one of them to make sure that we do not walk away today after having celebrated his life and not taking the next step... to assure the future generations that this won't happen again," he added.
Mr Floyd died on 25 May as a white Minneapolis officer pressed a knee into his neck for almost nine minutes, his pleas of "I can't breathe" becoming a rallying cry for protesters.
His death has come to embody fractured relations between communities of colour and police in the US and beyond as tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets.
Civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton, who gave the eulogy, accused US President Donald Trump of "wickedness" for cracking down on demonstrators instead of police brutality.
Reverend Sharpton also told the service in Houston that Trump's efforts to stop the protests with force, including the use of rubber bullets, rather than seek justice for abused citizens suggests Trump is signalling to police officers that they are above the law.
"We are fighting wickedness in high places!" Reverend Sharpton thundered, uttering the phrase repeatedly as he accused Trump of "scheming on how you can spin the story rather than how you can achieve justice".
"You call in your cabinet, trying to figure out how it's going to affect your vote, rather than how it's going to affect our lives," the renowned religious and rights advocate told the guests.
"You take rubber bullets and tear gas to clear out peaceful protesters and then take a Bible and walk in front of a church and use a church as a prop? Wickedness in high places," he said.
As funeral attendees applauded, Reverend Sharpton berated the president for failing to directly address how a Minneapolis policeman pressed his knee against a handcuffed Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds until well after Floyd's body went limp.
The Reverend Al Sharpton speaks during the funeral for George Floyd. Source: Houston Chronicle POOL
The Fountain of Praise was the final stage in a series of ceremonies paying tribute to Mr Floyd before he is buried.
In a day that capped more than two weeks of tension around the country, the theme inside the building was one of peace and hope as family members and friends took to the podium to share their grief.
Flowers were piled high outside the entrance to the church, attended by part of his family, before a portrait of Mr Floyd whose open casket was visited by more than 6,000 well-wishers on Monday.
Actor Jamie Foxx is recognized by the Reverend Al Sharpton during the funeral for George Floyd Source: AAP
Some 500 guests - all masked due the coronavirus pandemic - filled the church, including actors Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, as well as boxing champion Floyd Mayweather who is reportedly paying all expenses.
'Justice in America'
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who has visited the family, offered words of condolence to Mr Floyd's children in a video message urging them to "change the world for the better" in their father's name.
"Today now is the time, the purpose, the season to listen and heal," said Mr Biden, who suffered his own tragedy with the deaths of a wife and two children.
"Now is time for racial justice... Because when there's justice for George Floyd we will truly be on our way to racial justice in America."
The funeral comes after the Minneapolis authorities pledged to dismantle and rebuild the police department in the city where Floyd died during an arrest for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill.
The family of George Floyd listens to Nakitta Foxx singing 'We Offer Praise' during the funeral for George Floyd. Source: Houston Chronicle POOL
Derek Chauvin, the 44-year-old white officer who was filmed pressing his knee on the handcuffed Mr Floyd's neck, faces up to 40 years if convicted on charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.
His bail was set on Monday at $1 million with conditions, or $1.25 million without.
Three other policemen involved in Mr Floyd's arrest are charged with aiding and abetting his murder. All four officers have been fired.
Pallbearers recess out of the church with the casket following the funeral for George Floyd. Source: POOL Houston Chronicle
The arrest was caught on amateur video played in all corners of the world over the past two weeks.
Tough line from Trump
Mr Floyd was born in North Carolina, but grew up in Houston's predominantly African American Third Ward where he was remembered as a towering high school athlete and good-natured friend.
Demonstrators have taken to the streets for two weeks of the most sweeping US protests for racial justice since the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
The demonstrations have been marred by several nights of violence that focused attention at home and abroad on police brutality as numerous videos have emerged that allegedly show incidents of heavy-handed policing.
The Democrats have introduced legislation in both chambers of Congress, that they hope will make it easier to prosecute officers for abuse, and rethink how they are recruited and trained.
Protesters have filled the streets of major US cities for two weeks. Source: AP
Some US cities have already begun to embrace reforms - starting with bans on the use of tear gas and rubber bullets.
But it is unclear what support the reform bill might find in the Republican-controlled Senate - or whether President Donald Trump would sign such legislation into law.
