HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — Joe Biden said Tuesday the time to end racial injustice in America is “now,” as he addressed by video the funeral of George Floyd, whose death in custody triggered worldwide protests against racism.

“Now is the time for racial justice,” said the Democrat who will challenge President Donald Trump in the November election, adding that “millions” of protesters have taken to the streets in recent weeks with a similar message.

“We must not turn away,” Biden said. “We can not leave this moment thinking we can once again turn away from racism that stings at our very soul.”

Floyd died on May 25 as a white Minneapolis officer pressed a knee into his neck for almost nine minutes, his pleas of “I can’t breathe” becoming a rallying cry for protesters.

His death has come to embody fractured relations between communities of colour and police in the US and beyond as tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets.

The Fountain of Praise church was the final stage in a series of ceremonies paying tribute to Floyd before he is buried.

“We may weep, we may mourn, we’ll be comforted and we will find hope,” the church’s co-pastor Mia Wright said.

In a day that capped more than two weeks of tension around the country, the theme inside the building was one of peace and hope as family members and friends prepared to take the podium to share their grief, with civil rights leader the Reverend Al Sharpton due to deliver the eulogy.

Flowers were piled high outside the entrance to the church, attended by part of his family, before a portrait of Floyd whose open casket was visited by more than 6,000 well-wishers on Monday.

Some 500 guests — all masked due the coronavirus pandemic — filled the church, including actors Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, as well as boxing champion Floyd Mayweather who is reportedly paying all expenses.