ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is asking Minnesotans to pause their lives and spend 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence late Tuesday morning to honor George Floyd, who died in police custody on the streets of Minneapolis.
The proclamation calls for the moments of silence to begin at 11 a.m., which is when Floyd's funeral begins in his hometown of Houston. The duration signifies the amount of time prosecutors say Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against Mr. Floyd's neck, leaving him unable to breathe.
“The world watched in horror as George Floyd’s humanity was taken away from him,” reads Governor Walz’s proclamation. “We will not wake up one day and have the disease of systemic racism cured. We must do everything in our power to come together to deconstruct generations of systemic racism in our state so that every Minnesotan – Black, Indigenous, Brown, or White – can be safe and thrive.”
Thousands filed by Floyd's casket Monday during a public memorial. His death has triggered protests and calls for criminal justice reform across America and the globe.