Page 7 - Florida Sentinel 6-12-20

Political News
George Floyd Protests Enter Third Week As Push For Change Sweeps America
Streets in countless cities and towns across America filled with demonstrators again on Sunday as largely peaceful protests over systemic racism and police brutality, sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, headed towards a third week.
Rallies swelled as some cities lifted the evening curfews and withdrew national guard sup- port, and protesters claimed a landmark victory as a veto- proof majority of the Min- neapolis city council pledged to dismantle the city’s troubled police force.
The scenes were markedly different from the previous weekend, which saw police beating back protesters with teargas and batons, and a non- violent gathering in a Washing- ton, DC park on Monday forcibly cleared in military-style assault ahead of a photo oppor- tunity for Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, the body of Floyd, 46, whose killing on Memorial Day when a Min- neapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes was captured on a now infamous video, arrived in his hometown of Houston on Sun- day for a public viewing on Monday, and a private funeral was held on Tuesday.
Last weekend’s protests, which saw moments of levity and jubilance, appeared to re- flect a shifting mood across the country.
Thousands of marchers gath- ered close to the White House on Sunday afternoon, mirroring Saturday’s peaceful demonstra-
PROTESTORS
and Washington, DC passed largely in peace. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the NBA team the Milwaukee Bucks led a march of about 7,500. In Compton, California, there were protests on horseback and a caravan of cars driving past Los Angeles police headquarters, while an estimated 20,000 people packed Hollywood Boulevard, filling the street from curb to curb.
Scenes in Seattle, Washing- ton, turned briefly chaotic when a man drove into a crowd and shot a demonstrator. Seattle police department said a sus- pect was in custody and a gun was recovered at the scene.
Crowds were also back on the streets in Minneapolis. On top of a stage with a sign reading “Defund police”, the Minneapo-
lis city council president, Lisa Bender, announced the inten- tion of nine members of the council – a veto-proof majority – to dismantle the police de- partment and replace it with an alternative model of commu- nity-led safety. “In Minneapolis and in cities across the United States, it is clear that our sys- tem of policing is not keeping our communities safe,” she said to massive cheers.
Sunday also saw major demonstrations against racism and police brutality around the world in solidarity with a move- ment that has spread far be- yond the US. Demonstrators turned out in Rome, Milan, London, Brussels and Prague. In Bristol, England, protesters toppled a statue of a 17th-cen- tury slave trader.
tion in Washington, DC in which more than 10,000 people poured into the streets and coa- lesced at the feet of Abraham Lincoln at his giant marble memorial. The words Black Lives Matter had been painted in bright yellow letters along a street near the White House.
In the capital late on Sunday afternoon, Utah’s Republican senator Mitt Romney – a critic of Donald Trump – was seen among the roughly 1,000 demonstrators marching in a faith-based protest to the White House.
In New York, an estimated 1,600 protesters stopped out- side Trump International Hotel in Manhattan chanting “Throw him out” on their way to Cen- tral Park. A day earlier in Harlem demonstrators shouted “Get off our necks” and “Racism is America’s original sin” as they marched uptown from the National Black Theatre.
Speaking at virtual com- mencement speech for 2020 graduates, the former president Barack Obama joined a star- studded lineup including Bey- oncé, Lady Gaga and Tom Brady, offering inspirational
messages.
“As scary and uncertain these
times may be, they are also a wake-up call. And they’re an in- credible opportunity for your generation,” Obama said.
Elsewhere on Sunday, siz- able protests in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Boston, Portland, Philadelphia
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