WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 04: Senate Democrats participate in a moment of silence to honor George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement in Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol on June 4, 2020 in Washington, DC. Protests continue to be held in cities throughout the country over the death of Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)
Senate Democrats held a moment of silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds Thursday morning at the US Capitol to honor the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.
Senate Chaplain Barry Black opened the event saying we “stand in solidarity with courageous Americans who are peacefully protesting against racial injustice across our nation.”
Sen. Cory Booker gave a short tribute to Floyd, and said that “we gather here in solemn reverence here to not just mark his tragic death but give honor to his life.”
At the end of the 8:46 minutes — the amount of time an officer had his knee on Floyd’s neck — Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, read the three names, and said “may we honor those dead while protecting all who are alive.”
