As the nation continues to express anger and anguish over the death of George Floyd in police custody, the cable network BET announced that it will commemorate his life by broadcasting his funeral service in its entirety from The Fountain of Praise Church in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday.
Anchored by BET News’ Marc Lamont Hill, BET’s commercial-free, live coverage “BET Remembers: George Floyd,” will air Tuesday, June 9 at noon (ET) on BET, BET Her, BET.com, BET’s YouTube Channel and Facebook page.
Among the guests scheduled to attend the private service is Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, D-10, civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton, attorney Benjamin Crump, hip-hop artist Slim Thug, singer Leela James, rapper/actor Paul Wall, boxer Floyd Mayweather, Congressman Al Green,D-Houston, and Community of Faith leader Bishop James Dixon.
“We send our deepest condolences to George Floyd’s family. It is heartbreaking, infuriating, and devastating to witness the scourge of racism in America claim lives in our community. We must use this moment to galvanize our collective power to eradicate systemic racism, violence and injustice. It is our responsibility,” said BET President Scott Mills. “We are committed to working closely with community leaders, organizations and our like-minded corporate partners to create a more just society. We stand in solidarity with and look to empower every member of our community who is working towards this change.”
Meanwhile, other networks are beginning to release details of their coverage:
NBC — Airing at noon (ET) Tuesday will be “NBC News Special Report: Remembering George Floyd” on NBC and NBC News NOW.
Lead anchor Lester Holt will be joined by a team of NBC News journalists from across the country for the special report, including correspondents Morgan Chesky, Joe Fryer, Gabe Gutierrez and Steve Patterson. NBC News and MSNBC contributors Yamiche Alcindor, Paul Butler and Eugene Robinson will also join the coverage.
Holt will anchor a special edition of “NBC Nightly News” live from Houston at 6:30 p.m.
Craig Melvin will report on “Today” live from Houston with the latest leading up to the funeral, in addition to anchoring MSNBC’s special coverage starting at 11 a.m. ET.
CBS — Norah O’Donnell will anchor a CBS News Special Report from Houston at approximately noon ET Tuesday. O’Donnell will be joined by “CBS This Morning” co-host Michelle Miller and correspondent Janet Shamlian. CBS News chief justice and homeland security correspondent Jeff Pegues will contribute additional reporting from Minneapolis.
“CBS This Morning” co-hosts Gayle King, Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil will begin the network’s coverage from New York on Tuesday with an interview with the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA), plus CBS News national correspondent Errol Barnett will speak with several black police officers to hear their perspectives on the calls for reform, protests, use of force, and racial injustice.
In addition, Spike Lee will be live from New York to discuss the protests surrounding Floyd’s death and how the historical context of his latest film “Da 5 Bloods” still resonates in 2020.