Daily Express

Millions mass in US for 13th day

- By Jan Disley

MILLIONS took to America’s streets at the weekend for the 13th day of massive Black Lives Matter protests.

From East to West they turned out – young and old, men and women, black and white in massive rallies sparked by the death of George Floyd.

In San Francisco, marchers briefly shut the city’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge and in Seattle several officers were hurt by improvised explosives. In Richmond, Virginia, a statue of a Confederat­e general was pulled down from its pedestal. But most of the action was peaceful.

In New York, crowds crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. About 30,000 people gathered in Union Park in Chicago and a Hollywood intersecti­on was blocked by protesters in Los Angeles.

There were also protests in Atlanta and Philadelph­ia where crowds chanted: “We need justice, we need love.”

The biggest crowds were in Washington where tens of thousands came together near the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial and next to the White House at the newly renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza.

One marcher – Eric Wood, 35 – said: “I’m here because I really couldn’t afford not to be here. Racism has long been a part of the US.”

Crystal Ballinger, 46, said: “I feel something different about this protest... I’m hopeful that the message of solidarity and equality is getting out.” Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has called for the withdrawal of all federal law enforcemen­t officers from the city, saying their presence is “unnecessar­y”.

Mr Floyd, 46, was an unarmed black man who died on May 25 after a Minneapoli­s police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes as he told them “I can’t breathe”.

His funeral is due to take place tomorrow in his former hometown of Houston, Texas.

 ??  ?? The majority of protests across the US were peaceful
The majority of protests across the US were peaceful

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