In Minneapolis, lawyers for the defense and prosecution made opening arguments Monday in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who faces murder and manslaughter charges for killing George Floyd last May. Floyd was a 46-year-old Black man and a father who was originally from Houston, Texas. His death sparked international protests calling for racial justice. As the trial kicked off Monday, civil rights leader Al Sharpton knelt outside the Hennepin County Courthouse with members of Floyd’s family and supporters for nine minutes — marking the amount of time Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on George Floyd’s neck. This is Floyd family attorney Benjamin Crump.

Benjamin Crump: “We needed to pray for this family. But also we needed to pray for America, because this is a seminal moment, a landmark moment, in American history.”