Dozens of religious leaders gathered at a Jamaica Plain church Sunday to honor the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery — the trio of unarmed black individuals who died recently at the hands of police or vigilantes.
The memorial service at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, organized by a coalition of local faith leaders called Clergy United, followed a symbolic funeral procession behind three hearses — one for each of the slain trio.
June R. Cooper, a Baptist minister and executive director of City Mission Boston, said the local procession and memorial was meant to celebrate the ended lives and signal awareness.
“This is really important to show our community that the faith community realizes that this is an injustice that has been done and that we want to be part of the solution,” she said, just before the multi-car procession rolled out of the church parking lot.
Cooper said after the memorial service, she looks forward to policy changes.
“I would like to some reforms come out of this in terms of the criminal justice system and policing,” she said.
Inside the church, a line of socially-distanced clergy prayed, preached and sang as part of a livestreamed interfaith service.
Reverend Gloria White-Hammond, who co-founded Bethel AME alongside her husband Ray Hammond in the late 1980s, gave welcoming remarks, noting the church’s strict enforcement of social distancing.
“Why? Because we need you to survive,” she said. “We follow these recommendations because we need your body to be willing to act up in civil disobedience. We need you to survive.”
Imam Talymullah Abdur-Rahman, chaplain at the Massachusetts Department of Correction, read from the Quran and told the online audience he was making a specific petition for “white brothers and sisters” to help bring about justice.
“Use this moment to interrogate yourself and educate your family,” he said.
Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, leader of Dorchester’s New Roots AME Church, gave the eulogy for Floyd, Taylor and Arbery. She referred to racism as a “sin” that clings closely to all facets of American life.
“All across this country multitudes have been gathering,” she said, pointing to peaceful but sometimes turbulent protests. The violence, she said, is unhelpful, but the anger is righteous.
"For anytime humans take the life of another human because they look suspicious, or because of a questionable warrant, or even over $20, God's heart is broken and so should be all of ours," Mariama White-Hammond said to shouts of agreement from other faith leaders present.
Floyd’s killing is the latest in a long line of deaths of unarmed black men and women in the United States. His death followed in close succession behind those of Breonna Taylor, who was also killed by police in Kentucky in March, and Ahmaud Arbery, who in February was chased, then killed by a retired police officer and his son in Georgia. The three killings set off a series of nationwide protests racism and police brutality.
In Boston, multiple protests broke out. On May 31, one protest gave way to a night of looting and building damage in the Back Bay and Downtown Crossing.
City and state officials have vowed to address racism and various policing tactics in the wake of the continued demonstrations.
Boston faith leaders said Sunday they would like to see changes to state voting and policing polices, starting with a civilian review board and legalized Sunday voting.
Floyd’s family members are now advocating for changing policing tactics in black communities. Philonise Floyd, one of several siblings, is scheduled to appear at a congressional hearing this week on police practices and accountability, according to Fox News.
Another memorial and private service are scheduled to take place Monday in Houston, where George Floyd grew up.
