GoFundMe page in memory of George Floyd raises over $8m. in 5 days

On Thursday the page had already raised $6.5 million, and at the time of writing the page is currently earning nearly $100,000 an hour.

By ZACHARY KEYSER
A mural depicts African-American man George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody, at Mauerpark in Berlin, Germany, May 30, 2020. (photo credit: REUTERS)
A mural depicts African-American man George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody, at Mauerpark in Berlin, Germany, May 30, 2020.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A GoFundMe page dedicated to the memory of George Floyd, purportedly organized by his brother Philonise Floyd, raised over $8.1 million in donations within the past five days.
The "Official George Floyd Memorial Fund" has attracted over 309,000 donors and has been shared on social media over 212,000 times, as of Monday. On Thursday, the page had already raised $6.5 million, and at the time of writing the page is currently earning nearly $100,000 an hour.
"My family and I watched in absolute horror as the now infamous and horrifying video began to spread quickly throughout social media," the page description read. "What we saw on that tape left us shell shocked; a white Minneapolis police officer kneeling directly on my brother's neck, obstructing his ability to breathe."
"As some officers knelt on his neck, other officers participated and watched; no one took any action to save my brother's life. Those officers would continue to brutalize my brother until he died."
The fund will cover funeral and burial costs, as well as therapy and grief counseling for the family and expenses surrounding the court proceedings to come. Additionally, a portion of the donated estate will be sectioned off for the benefit, care and education of Floyd's children. What remains will be divided among the family.
"From the bottom of our hearts, my family thanks each of you who have reached out. While we are not able to respond to each expression of love at this time, please know that we love and appreciate each and every one of you. Our hearts are overwhelmed!" Philonise wrote.
Floyd, an African-American man, was shown in a widely shared bystander video on May 25 being pinned to the ground by a white Minneapolis police officer by way of a knee to the neck, handcuffed, lying face down, groaning for help and repeatedly saying, "Please, I can't breathe," before becoming motionless. He died in hospital shortly thereafter.
The release of the video immediately sparked grief and outrage across the United States. Peaceful protests have unraveled into nightly riots in Minneapolis. The demonstrations, accompanied by looting and vandalism, have spread into other US cities as well, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Washington, long after the officer being held responsible was fired from the police force and, on Friday, arrested and charged with murder and manslaughter.
The incident also led to the dismissal of three other officers who stood idly by as Floyd cried out for help.
Philonise told CNN on Thursday that he was "tired of seeing black men die" and understood people's anger but urged protesters to be peaceful.
"To the police: I want them to get everything right – start doing your job the right way because I haven't been seeing it," Philonise said.
Reuters contributed to this report.