21 August,2020 06:44 PM IST | Washington | PTI
Joe Biden
Calling on Americans to combat racism, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has recalled one of the most important conversations he had during the campaign with George Floyd's 6-year-old daughter, whose words "Daddy changed the world" burrowed deep into his heart.
Biden, 77, officially accepted the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party on the final day of the four-day virtual convention of the party on Thursday night.
During his address, Biden said that his campaign was "among other things" about "winning the heart, and yes, the soul of America " for those communities who have known the injustice of the 'knee on the neck.'"
It was a reference to Floyd, a Black man killed by a Minneapolis police officer in late May. Biden said "one of the most important conversations" he had during the campaign was with Floyd's young daughter Gianna, the day before his funeral. "She was incredibly brave," Biden said.
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"I'll never forget. When I leaned down to speak with her, she looked into my eyes and said, 'Daddy changed the world.' Her words burrowed deep into my heart," he said.
Floyd was killed during the arrest after allegedly passing a counterfeit USD 20 bill in Minneapolis. A white police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd's neck for nearly eight minutes, choking him to death.
After his death, protests against police violence toward Black people quickly spread across the United States and internationally against racism.
"George Floyd's death was the breaking point" for the country to wake up to racism in America, Biden said. "America is ready in John's words to 'lay down the heavy burden of hate' and do the hard work of rooting out systemic racism," Biden said.
Biden picked California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate this week. Harris, 55, has become the first-ever American of Indian and African descent to be picked by a major party for the top post as vice president of the United States.
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