Just southeast of Downtown Houston, Texas lies the one and only Third Ward or what is affectionately known as “The Tre”. One of six wards in the city, Third Ward is home to Texas Southern University, the University of Houston, Yates High School, restaurants Timmy Chan’s and the original Frenchy’s Chicken, the infamous Scott and Blodgett streets, and just a short stop away from “Hippity Hill” aka Hermann Park.
Beyonce, Solange Knowles, The MouthSoap’s Gloria Altonnia and Betty Bema, and many more notable people reign from the ward. The little ole’ neighborhood that rests inside the 610 Loop has even been referenced in movies and music. Now, Third Ward is garnering the attention of the world once again and it’s all because of one man, George Perry Floyd, Jr.
As reports are released from friends and family members recounting Floyd’s life, it has become more and more apparent that the life of Floyd was exemplary of the lives of many people that lived in the hood.
Raised in Cuney Homes in Third Ward, Floyd played sports at Jack Yates High School. Later, the over six foot tall athlete would transition into hip hop joining the legendary Screwed Up Click as “Big Floyd”. His desire to plays sports and do music were some of the mainstay career choices of kids growing up in Third Ward.
As he grew up and adulthood pillaged him with the daunting realities of being a black man living in America, he fell into the common traps of the hood, which if it didn’t destroy you, often cornered people into certain professions that seem to be mandated for black people in the South. It’s the security jobs. Nursing, truck driving, construction or sometimes, petty crimes.
Unless you moved away or had mentors that closely guided you into specific fields, these were the opportunities available to all the hopeful kids growing up in the Tre.
Floyd was no exception. He, too, was trying to find his way out of the gutter life of poverty curated by systemic racism. Like the smart ones do, Floyd finally realized that he would have to leave his beloved Houston in order to get anywhere in life. So, he moved to Minneapolis…
It was disheartening to see this 46-year-old man cry for his mother before he took his last breaths. But, as he drifted away from the carnal life, he blessed the world with the gift of awakening and revolution. It is true. The year 2020 is the year of 20/20 vision and thanks to this father, son, brother and friend, not only are black people on the frontlines fighting for equality and justice, but so are their white, Latino, Asian and biracial peers.
Floyd, the kid who grew up in Third Ward, is now the legend who shook up the world. Thank you.
His family and over 500 people from the city of Houston laid Floyd to rest on Tuesday, June 9. While many memorials are scheduled to take place in other states, North Carolina and Minneapolis, his body will rest next to his mother’s in Pearland, Texas.
The memorial service took place at The Fountain of Praise Church with …presiding. His family members, which included his brothers and niece Brooke Williams, dressed in all white shared their emotional accounts about their beloved.
There words were followed by several music performances, including that of Ne-Yo who performed Boyz II Men’s “Yesterday”. Famous guests who attended the memorial included Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston Texans player J.J. Watt, rapper Trae Tha Truth, HPD Chief Art Acevedo and Rev. Al Sharpton.
The Rev. Al Sharpton gave a heartfelt sermon as he spoke about the impact Floyd made on the world. He also had a few words addressing the hypocrisy of Donald Trump and the NFL.
He pointed out how Trump never publicly spoke about the murder of Floyd, but was adamant about releasing the military on to protestors. Sharpton also recognized the NFL’s unfair treatment of quarterback Colin Kaepernick after he peacefully protested police brutality four years ago. He demanded that the league go beyond apologizing and instead, give Kaepernick his job back so that they can show and prove that they really do believe that black lives matter.
After the ceremony, Floyd was carried to Houston Memorial Gardens cemetery in Pearland, Texas in a horse-drawn carriage. The boy with big dreams who grew up in Third Ward, Houston leaves this world not in vain, but as a man whose death, along with so many others before him, sparked the next chapter in the fight for civil rights. Houston, stand up!
