Peaceful demonstrations started in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area on May 26 but only became violent later when demonstrators set two stores on fire and looted and damaged stores. The police intervened, and they skirmished with demonstrators and fired rubber bullets and teargas on them (Booker et al., 2020). In addition, several other protests have developed in more than 400 cities across the country and internationally while the participants use slogans and posters phrased “Black Lives Matter,” “I Can’t Breathe,” and “Justice for George Floyd.” In central Washington DC, there has been a fight between police and protestors, and the military helicopters hovered over the protestors heading towards the White House (BBC News, 2020). Besides, in Manhattan district, New York, protestors defied night-time curfew and matched on the roads blocking traffic. Other big rallies have been held in Seattle, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles (BBC News, 2020). Most of the peaceful protests became violent, and about 308 businesses have been vandalized as of June 2.
Floyd’s death ignited a wave of deep-seated anger on racism and the killings of black Americans by police. The demonstrations not only express the anger about the death of Mr. Floyd but also condemning the mistreatment and brutality of the police against the black Americans (Dakss et al., 2020). Many US lawmakers have called for the end of police immunity that prevents them from facing civil legal actions. However, the government has responded to the demonstrations where 12 States, Minnesota included, have called for the “National Guard” and midnight curfews have been imposed on 12 cities.
As it goes with the legal maxim, “Justice delayed is justice denied” one of the officers, Derek Chauvin, has been convicted of third-degree murder and is expected to appear next week in the court. However, three other police officers involved in George Floyd’s murder have only been fired, and they have not been charged. The Floyd case is one of the high-profile cases that have stirred the Black Lives Matter Movement. Other cases involving the death of African Americans under police custody include the 2014 case Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Ferguson. Statistics show that African-Americans are more prone to police brutality than other ethnic groups in the US (BBC News, 2020). Their arrest for drug abuse and accusations on the robbery is higher than white Americans. Floyd’s death caused outrage in many people, and it demonstrated many years of discrimination and socio-economic inequalities among the African-Americans.
References
BBC News. (2020, June 3). Further widespread US protests but violence falls. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52902121
Booker, B., Chappell, B., Schaper, D., & Shapiro, J. (2020, June 1). Violence Erupts as Outrage Over George Floyd’s Death Spills into A New Week. NPR.Org. https://www.npr.org/2020/06/01/866472832/violence-escalates-as-protests-over-george-floyd-death-continue
Dakss, B., Baldwin, S. L., & Reals, T. (2020, June 3). New charges in George Floyd’s death as protests sweep the nation. Www.Cbsnews.Com. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/george-floyd-death-protests-unrest-disorder-2020-06-03/
Logan Tran
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