A GoFundMe page was set up for George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed by ex-Officer Derek Chauvin. Support for his family came pouring in and the page garnered $10 million of donations in less than a week.
Donations and support
The page named "Official George Floyd Memorial Fund" reached $10,113,200 in funds as of June 2 and 390,100 people have donated. This page is now one of the most successful GoFunMe campaigns of all time based on the amount of money that was raised.
The initial target amount for the GoFundMe is $1.5 million, but it has surprised the amount tenfold as the link to the page has been shared on social media for more than 200,000 times.
Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, was the one who set up the page six days ago and he wrote an emotional letter stating how his life has been shattered after witnessing the murder of his brother through the viral video.
The money garnered by the family will be used to cover for the funeral and burial expenses, for grief and mental counseling of the family and lodging and travel to court proceedings as ex-Officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. The rest of the money will go to the care and education of Floyd's two children.
Philonise wrote that his life was shattered as he learned of the tragic passing of his brother. He said his family watched in horror as the video began to spread fast around the world through social media and what they saw on the video left them shell shocked as a white Minneapolis police officer knelt directly on George Floyd's neck, not giving him the chance to breathe.
Philonise added that as Chauvin knelt on his brother's neck, the other three officers in the scene just watched, not taking any action to save George's life. He also thanked everyone who has supported their family, he said that he is grateful for all those who reached out.
Another GoFundMe page named "GEORGE FLOYD (BIGFLOYD)" was set up by Floyd's sister Bridgett and it has now drawn $300,000 in donations.
According to DailyMail, the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund raised around $24 million for the victims of sexual assault and harassment at work, thus making it the biggest campaign of 2018. George Floyd's page is ranked second as the most popular pages.
The murder of George Floyd
George Floyd was killed on May 25, when ex-Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes until he stopped breathing and died. Floyd was arrested for allegedly paying with a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store.
Bystanders and witnesses were able to film the horrifying way the Floyd died and it was immediately shared on social media. Floyd's death sparked outrage in the country as African Americans, other people of color and white allies demand justice for his murder. It also opened the topic of racism and police brutality in America, resulting in protests and riots.
The protests have now reached global status as the United Kingdom, Amsterdam, France, Spain, Brazil, Australia, and Germany showed their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Chauvin has been arrested and has been charged, but the other three officers who were in the scene are still free. The public has been calling for Chauvin's charge to be raised to first-degree murder and for the other three officers to be charged as well.
