FORT WORTH, Texas — It was a moving sight as pallbearers rocked George Floyd out of the church this past Tuesday in Houston.
Four of those pallbearers work at Gregory W. Spencer Funeral Directors in Fort Worth.
“We wanted to take George Floyd out in the right way,” Malik Earle told WFAA. “It was truly a celebration of life for him.”
Earle, 24, was one of four pallbearers that works at the Fort Worth funeral home.
They call themselves the "elite guard." They are a group known for their energetic style of honoring the deceased.
So when they got the call last week from a funeral home in Houston asking them to take part in Floyd’s service, there was no question they would do it.
“I was immediately, ‘Yes, let's do it,’” said pallbearer Charles Howard.
Earle said most of the people in attendance had no idea what was about to take place.
“They thought it was just about to be an ending to another funeral,” he said.
As they rocked Floyd’s casket out, gospel music filling the air, the air was electric.
“You could feel the presence of God,” Howard said.
They did not know George Floyd in life.
“It was literally amazing from start to finish,” Earle said.
They were honored to pay tribute to his life and to serve Floyd’s family.
“Mr. Floyd's death is transitioning and changing the world,” Earle said. “I’m a religious person, so I believe God ordained Mr. Floyd’s death to shift America.”
For them, it was being a part of history in the making.
“It definitely made Fort Worth proud,” Howard said. “When I have kids, I'll be able to show the pictures and the video clips to my children, I'll be able to tell that them their father played a part in history of the African-American culture.”
