George Floyd’s brother says destruction ‘not what he was about’

Terrence Floyd in an interview on Monday said his older brother George Floyd would not have wanted people to engage in violent protests in his name, and warned it risked overshadowing the peaceful protests against racism in police departments. 

“He would want us to seek justice the way we are, the way we’re trying to do, but channel it another way,” Terrence Floyd said Monday on “Good Morning America.” 

“Ripping up, damaging your hometown is not the way he’d want,” he added. 

“I just want to feel my brother’s spirit … to connect with him again.” Terrence Floyd reacts to the protests that have erupted across the country after his brother’s death as he plans to make a visit to the site where his brother died in Minneapolis. https://t.co/we0hSARItv pic.twitter.com/f5a0HfABR3

— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 1, 2020

In response to a question from “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts, Terrence Floyd said he was concerned that some of the violence is taking away from the call for justice.

“Yes, I do feel like it’s overshadowing what’s going on,” he responded. 

“He was about peace, he was about unity. The things that’s transpiring now, they may call it unity, but it’s destructive unity. It’s not what he was about. That’s not what my brother was about,” Terrence Floyd added. 

George Floyd died last week while in custody of Minneapolis police. A video of his arrest shows an officer kneeling on his neck as he said he could not breathe. The officer has since been charged with murder.  

Protests have broken out across the country in response to the death. In some municipalities, curfews have been imposed and the National Guard has been called in after some of the demonstrations have turned violent.

Terrence Floyd said his brother was a “gentle giant” who was always able to motivate others no matter what hardships they were going through. He said George Floyd would be motivating others to channel their anger to “do something positive or make a change another way.”