'We got corona, and we got corruption': Families of those killed by police draw a comparison between civil unrest and the ongoing pandemic

• George Floyd's family was joined at a press conference Monday by civil rights attorneys and family members of others who were killed by police, including Eric Garner's mother Gwen Carr.
• They praised the Black Lives Matter movement making waves across the US and around the world, but reiterated that the fight is not yet over and encouraged protesters to keep going.
• Speakers at the press conference drew a comparison between the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest related to black injustice, saying that we're rushing for a vaccine for the coronavirus but not a cure for racism.
• Attorney Chris Stewart — who is representing the family of Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed while jogging — said a "vaccine" for racism hasn't been found not because it wasn't a problem, but because the US "didn't care enough" to provide one.

Families of those who were killed by police drew a comparison between civil unrest and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The family of the late George Floyd was joined by others who have lost loved ones at a press conference on Monday to continue advocating for change and encourage protesters to keep fighting against racial injustice.

Gwen Carr — the mother of Eric Garner, who died in a chokehold after saying "I can't breathe," the same words spoken by Floyd — spoke at the press conference, saying she stands in solidarity with the Floyd family because "it mimics my case and this is personal to me."

"They have double-backed and claimed another loved one by a chokehold," Carr said at the press conference. "That's why we have to fight for justice. This family is hurting now, just like my hurt, my hurt don't go away."

She encouraged the public to continue protesting and to demand change — and to do so safely in the midst of a pandemic.

"We know that the disease, the corona is out here," she said. "But we got corona, and we got corruption. So we got to fight both of them."

"We've got to get the bad apples out of the police department," Carr continued. "We don't need them, because ... I don't want to have to stand here and hear another mother, another father, another brother cry because they've been killed by the police senselessly."

Attorney Chris Stewart — who is representing the family of Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed while jogging — also drew a comparison between the coronavirus and the fight against racial injustice, namely in the rush for a vaccine.

"The problem is this country has been searching for a vaccine for the coronavirus. We've all been suffering for like three months," Stewart said during the press conference.

"But they never came up for a vaccine for racism or police brutality, and we've been suffering from that for hundreds of years, thousands of years, and there's never been a vaccine given," he continued. "Not because there wasn't a problem, but because they didn't care enough to provide a vaccine."

He said that "the times have changed," acknowledging the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests erupting around the world in light of Floyd's killing.

"All the people you see up here, all of the families, all of the lawyers that used to fight these cases separately, are uniting on them and demanding justice," Stewart said. "As long as y'all keep fighting, we will keep winning, because ... we have been through this."

"The moment y'all move on with your life this is over," he continued. "And we'll never get a vaccine. So keep pushing, keep fighting."