George Floyd’s brother’s plea to Congress: “Stop the pain”

George Floyd’s brother just delivered a powerful message to Congress about the “pain” he felt watching a Minneapolis police officer kill his sibling on camera.

“I can’t tell you the kind of pain you feel when you watch something like that,” Philonise Floyd told the Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee during a Wednesday hearing on police practices and law enforcement accountability. “When you watch your big brother, who you’ve looked up to your whole life, die. Die begging for your mom.”

“I’m tired. I’m tired of the pain I’m feeling now, and I’m tired of the pain I feel every time another black person is killed for no reason,” Floyd continued. “I’m here today to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain. Stop us from being tired.”

The committee called 12 witnesses to Wednesday’s hearing, including family members of victims of police brutality, religious leaders, police chiefs, lawyers, experts, and Fox News personalities.

But Floyd, speaking just one day after burying his brother in Houston, was the main event. His brother’s death in May catalyzed a national and global movement for racial equality and better policing. Such pressure led Republicans to consider new proposals to overhaul policing around the country, with a specific focus on minimizing racial discrimination among officers.

Floyd urged the congressional panel to not let the moment for reform slip away. “Please listen to the call I’m making to you now, to the calls of our family, and to the calls ringing out in the streets across the world,” he pleaded. “Honor them, honor George, and make the necessary changes that make law enforcement the solution — and not the problem.”

It’s unclear whether Congress will heed Floyd’s advice. It’s a presidential election year, and the gap between the two parties on this issue may be too wide to bridge. But Floyd is solemnly aware of the hurt future Americans will feel if changes to policing aren’t made — and soon.

You can read Floyd’s opening statement to the House Judiciary Committee below, or here:

@kadiagoba

@kadiagoba

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.

So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)

If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via