The mother of George Floyd’s young daughter has spoken out in a heartbreaking speech.
George Floyd was a Black American man who was killed last week after police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while he was handcuffed on the ground.
His horrific death has led to anti-racism protests across the world and a long overdue global conversation about the injustices of racism, with different communities everywhere actively trying to learn about the prejudice and showing their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
And as much as people across the world want justice for George Floyd (and all of those who have faced similar circumstances), there is a certain group of people who need the justice more than anyone – his family.
George was a father to six-year-old daughter Gianna, whose mother Roxie Washington has spoken about on the past week’s tragic events.
George Floyd’s six-year-old daughter Gianna appeared at the poignant press conference with her mother Roxie Washington (Credit: Getty)
Making her heartbreaking address at a recent news conference, as she was fighting back tears Roxie said, “I don’t have a lot to say, because I can’t get my words together right now.”
“But I want everyone to know that this is what those officers took. At the end of the day, they get to go home and be with their families.
“Gianna does not have a father.”
Roxie took a breath to try and stay composed, before continuing, “[George] will never see Gianna grow up, graduate. He will never walk her down the aisle.
"I'm here for my baby, and I’m here for George, because I want justice for him." Roxie Washington, George Floyd's girlfriend, talks about their 6-year-old daughter, Gianna, growing up without her father. https://t.co/B9PZ98kzQU pic.twitter.com/Ucz59Thkpr
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 3, 2020
“If there’s a problem she’s having and she needs her dad, she does not have that anymore.”
“I’m here for my baby,” she added, “and I’m here for George, because I want justice for him. I want justice for him because he was good. No matter what anybody thinks, he was good.
“And this,” she said, gesturing to her daughter Gianna, “is the proof that he was a good man.”
Our thoughts are with the entire family during this difficult and heart-wrenching time.