US anti-racism protesters demand change and justice
Tens of thousands of peaceful protesters rallied for racial justice on Saturday in cities across the US following the death of African American George Floyd at the hands of police.
Protests took place from New York to Los Angeles, but Washington was at the epicentre as thousands of people of all races flooded the streets surrounding the White House, which was barricaded with metal fencing.
“This fight has been happening for many, many decades, hundreds of years, and at this point it is time for a change,” said Washington native Christine Montgomery.
“I’m here so my son is not the next hashtag circulating worldwide,” she said, indicating the 10-year-old with her.
On a sunny day, many people wore masks because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Volunteers gave out water, hand sanitiser and other supplies as the area took on a street party vibe, with music, mural painting, food trucks and vendors selling Black Lives Matter T-shirts.
Helicopters circled overhead as some protesters danced, but the pain which drove many in to the streets was never far below the surface, as others yelled, “This ain’t no party!”
On the National Mall, fencing and uniformed guards blocked protesters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr famously delivered his “I have a dream” speech in 1963.
The protests were ignited by videos of an officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes as he pleaded for his life — the latest unarmed black person to be killed by white law enforcement officers.
The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with seconddegree murder.
The rage since Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25 has exploded into the most serious civil unrest in America since King was assassinated in 1968.
Peaceful protests swelled on
Saturday in other US cities. Tens of thousands rallied across New York City and Philadelphia, Chicago shut down the city’s Lake Shore Drive to facilitate protests, and demonstrators marched in Los Angeles. In San Francisco, thousands marched across the Golden Gate Bridge.
A remembrance for Floyd was held on Saturday in North Carolina, the state where he was born, following a memorial service in Minneapolis held on Thursday.
Hundreds waited to view his coffin, many sobbing.
Floyd’s sisters LaTonya and Zsa-Zsa said they would not go inside.
“I can’t go in, see him in a coffin — it would drive me crazy forever,” said LaTonya through tears.