A former police officer is about to go on trial in the US charged with the murder of George Floyd.
Derek Chauvin is accused of murdering the black suspect in Minneapolis last year, by kneeling on his neck while making an arrest.
Lawyers say the trial will be a "referendum" on how far the country has come in its fight for racial equality.
It led to race protests which swept across the world, with Black Lives Matter Demonstrations taking place in many countries including Ireland.
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The Floyd family lawyer Benjamin Crump said race is a major factor in George's death.
"If George Floyd was a white American citizen and he suffered this painful, tortuous death, nobody would be saying this is a hard case," he said.
Mr Floyd's nephew, Brandon Williams, says it's about getting justice.
Members of George Floyd's family, Rev. Al Sharpton and attorney Benjamin Crump took a knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds outside the Minneapolis courthouse to represent the time Derek Chauvin was originally reported to have knelt on Floyd’s head and neck. https://t.co/j8jXi3mqvZ pic.twitter.com/MvQAdBkbbC
— CNN (@CNN) March 29, 2021
"We cant get him back but what we can do is make sure no family feels the pain and suffering that we feel."
Outside the courthouse today, Brandon said somebody needs to be held accountable for the death of his uncle.
