Thousands of people gathered on the Malieveld in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 2, 2020, in protest of violence against Black people in the U.S. Photo by Robin Utrech / SOPA Images / Light Rocket / Getty Images.
In the past week, demonstrations have erupted in big and small cities across the United States and in countries around the world over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Amid the outpouring of outrage over Floyd’s death, the killing of Breonna Taylor by a police officer in Louisville, Kentucky, and of Ahmaud Arbery by vigilantes in Georgia, along with pent-up anger, exhaustion, and fear experienced by Black, Brown, and Indigenous people facing structural racism and systemic disparities, are glimpses of solidarity and hope.
Here are some takeaways.
Throughout Europe, across Latin America and in parts of the Middle East, protesters took to the streets in a powerful display of solidarity with U.S. demonstrators. In Brazil, people joined an existing protest against that country’s hard-line conservative president, Jair Bolsonaro. In Mexico City, portraits of Floyd were hung on the fence outside the U.S. embassy alongside flowers, candles, and signs reading, “Racism kills, here, there, and all over the world.”
Even as President Trump threatened to deploy the military to quell what he called “domestic terror,” law enforcement in several cities stood with protesters—in some cases marching alongside them. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, the police chief told his officers to turn in their badges if they couldn’t see the injustice in Floyd’s death. And in New York City and Coral Gables, Florida, and in demonstrations in Oregon, Iowa, and Kentucky, officers took a knee alongside protesters.
The owner of an Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant in Minneapolis, whose building had been used as a refuge for demonstrators from police mace, tear gas, and rubber bullets but was later burned down, joined in the global call for justice. His daughter, Hafsa Islam, wrote on Facebook: “Gandhi Mahal may have felt the flames last night, but our [fiery] drive to help protect and stand with our community will never die!” Quoting her father, she said: “Let my building burn. Justice needs to be served. Put those officers in jail.”
In some cities, movements converged as monuments to the Confederacy or of statues depicting other racist historical figures became obvious targets for demonstrators. In Nashville, Tennessee, for example, protesters toppled a statue of former U.S. Sen. Edward Carmack, who supported lynching. In Richmond, Virginia, protesters set fire to the headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a group that many have accused of furthering white supremacy.
Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who chose to kneel during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racial inequality, is raising money to represent protesters arrested in Minneapolis. Kaepernick announced the Know Your Rights Camp Legal Defense Initiative on his Instagram page on Friday to pay for legal assistance for protesters. Nationwide, close to 5,000 people have been arrested across the country.
Meanwhile, the nonprofit Minnesota Freedom Fund, which is bailing out jailed demonstrators, raised $20 million in the first four days of the protests. The organization said it was no longer actively soliciting donations but instead encouraging people to give to the George Floyd family and other organizations run by Black community members.
The Hands Up Act, which is an online movement collecting signatures for a petition that would force lawmakers in Washington to consider a measure that would hand down a mandatory 15-year prison sentence for any police officer who shoots an unarmed suspect. In the days since the demonstration started, he has added more than 450,000 signatures to surpass his goal of 1 million. His new goal is 1.5 million signatures.
About 75 strangers in a Nashville community, most of them White, walked with a Black man who reached out on social media saying he was afraid to walk in his neighborhood alone. And in Louisville, White protesters lined up to form a human shield between Black protesters and local police. In the same city, Black protesters formed a circle around a White officer separated from his unit.
Syndicated from YES! magazine. Lornet Turnbull is an associate editor for YES!, a Seattle-based freelance writer, and a regional freelance writer for The Washington Post.
This is a sad day for Daily Good because it has chosen to post a hateful, divisive, anti-love, political propaganda article. The article is factually incorrect. What many Americans object to, including the President, is the violent riots, not the peaceful protests. If anyone thinks throwing rocks at police officers, shooting and killing them, breaking windows and stealing, and setting buildings on fire is acceptable to addressing the the crimes against George Floyd, then they are part of a much bigger problem facing America. I am heat broken over Mr Floyd and other such cases, and heart broken over Daily Good. Time to un-subscribe
Peaceful demonstrations are definitely the best way to protest, however, rioting, looting, destroying private property, shooting and killing are absolutely unacceptable, and must not be tolerated. 99% of the world saw the killing of George Floyd as heinous and demanded those guilty be arrested and charged with his murder, which has happened. Yet still the rioting, looting and attempted murders toward the police continue. What also continues is White Shaming, which even the Blacks have said is unacceptable and disgusting. It's one thing to show up for a peaceful protest, it's quite another not to stop your brothers and sisters when the violence starts.
On Jun 4, 2020 Cathy Kozlinski wrote:
Is the outrage, reaction, and response that we read focused on the horrible treatment and ultimate senseless death of George Floyd?
Is the outrage, reaction, and response that we read focused on what should be peaceful protests that have been hijacked by violent behavior?
These events are certainly not comparable, but our focus is what separates us.
We have contempt and disgust toward the brutal, senseless killing of George Floyd.
We feel confusion and disillusionment over the looting and destruction occurring by some, during what should be peaceful protesting.
Our reactions are not mutually exclusive. We are all brokenhearted. We are all disillusioned.
When one reaction is focused on one of these events, and another reaction is focused on the other, it should not result in divisiveness. People are only expressing their confusion on two heartbreaking and frustrating events.
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