Category Archives: Race

How the killing of George Floyd has upended America – video report

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Cities across the US have been convulsed by protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after being arrested and handcuffed by a white officer who then kneeled on his neck for several minutes. Floyd pleaded that he 'could not breathe' and among his last words were 'don't kill me'.

The incident has sparkd a reckoning over race and police killings of black Americans - and demonstrations have spread from Minnesota to other parts of the US including New York, Denver, Chicago and Oakland

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Trudeau: Canadians watching US unrest and police violence in ‘shock and horror’

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Prime minister condemned racism and called on Canada to ‘stand together in solidarity’ against racial hate as protests continue in US

Canadians are watching unrest and police violence in the United States in “shock and horror”, Justin Trudeau said on Friday – but the prime minister cautioned that his country also has entrenched problems with racism. 

The city of Minneapolis has been rocked by a third night of violent protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, after a white police officer knelt on his neck as he lay on the ground following arrest. 

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The Minnesota paradox: how race divides prosperous Minneapolis

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Protests over killing of George Floyd highlight reality of tensions in the Twin Cities

It has been called the “Minnesota paradox”. The Twin Cities, comprising the conjoined urban areas of Minneapolis and St Paul, regularly tops the list of places in the US with the best quality of living.

Largely low rise and sprawling, set around the cities’ lakes and the Mississippi, the area is marked by affordable and largely good quality housing with lawns, parks, museums and tree-lined streets.

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George Floyd: Minneapolis official sings Amazing Grace to bereaved family – video

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Minneapolis city council vice-president Andrea Jenkins sang a portion of the song Amazing Grace and offered her sympathies to the family of George Floyd at a news conference on Thursday morning. Jenkins also called on her council colleagues to call a state of emergency in Minneapolis, declaring racism a public health issue. George Floyd died on Monday after a Minneapolis police officer arrested him and placed his knee on his neck for several minutes. Video of the encounter has been shown worldwide.

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George Floyd killing: DoJ says inquiry its ‘top priority’ after thousands protest

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  • FBI prosecutors and investigators assigned to ‘robust’ inquiry
  • Protests followed George Floyd’s killing by police on Monday

The US Department of Justice said it had made its investigation into police involvement in the death of George Floyd a “top priority” after thousands took to the streets for a second day of protests in Minneapolis.

Related: George Floyd killing: two officers involved previously reviewed for use of force

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‘You lot can’t rattle me’: John Boyega defends explicit anti-racism posts in wake of George Floyd death

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The Star Wars actor expanded on his defiance of racist social media users in an Instagram Live video

John Boyega has been praised for a series of uncompromising social media posts speaking out about racism in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.

Boyega’s initial Tweet, “I really fucking hate racists”, currently has 1.3m likes, but came in for criticism for his hard-hitting tone and use of an expletive.

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George Floyd: aerial footage shows protesters block LA highway – video

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Protests after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis grew as demonstrators rallied in Los Angeles, marching through the city and blocking both sides of a freeway. 

Floyd, who was black, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, which was captured on video 

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Minneapolis police fire teargas at protesters after death of George Floyd – video

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Police have clashed with protesters on the streets of Minneapolis amid outrage over the death of an unarmed black man in police custody. George Floyd died after an officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. Large crowds gathered in the city on Tuesday night and police in riot gear fired teargas and rubber bullets at demonstrators

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FBI investigating Ahmaud Arbery shooting as possible hate crime, lawyer says

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Attorney for family of black jogger shot by white men says federal authorities are looking into prosecutors and police in case

The FBI is investigating the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a black jogger, by two white men as a possible hate crime, the Arbery family’s attorney said Monday, claiming that federal authorities had launched a criminal inquiry into two district attorneys and the police department involved in the case.

Lee Martin, who represents the family of Arbery, 25, whose 23 February killing in Brunswick, Georgia, was captured on a graphic video recording that sparked national outrage, said he met with officials from the Department of Justice last Thursday.

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‘We’re expendable’: black Americans pay the price as states lift lockdowns

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Experts warn reopening states could have dire consequences on public health, and black Americans already face greater risk

Donald Trump recently shared a doctored video of his head superimposed on to actor Bill Pullman’s character in the 1996 film Independence Day’s crowd-rallying scene, likening frontline workers to warriors.

But it rang hollow for Denita Jones, a Dallas-area call center worker. For many black, essential workers like her, the message is about reopening the economy, but the real meaning is more subtle.

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Democratic VP contender Demings slams Trump ‘gall’ over Biden black voters gaffe

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Val Demings, a Democratic representative from Florida among contenders to be Joe Biden’s presidential running mate, has castigated Donald Trump for having the “gall and nerve” to use a gaffe by Biden as a weapon on the campaign trail.

Related: Jeff Sessions protests loyalty to Trump – again – despite Twitter abuse

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Plan to open mosque in Trocadero in London sparks objections

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Foundation seeks to convert part of historic building into mosque and community centre

A plan to convert part of the famous Trocadero building in Piccadilly Circus in London into a mosque has sparked objections from people who say a place of worship in an area noted for its bars and nightlife is inappropriate.

The Aziz Foundation, a charity that offers educational grants and scholarships to Muslims, has applied to Westminster city council for permission to convert the basement and ground floor of the Trocadero into a place of worship and a community centre.

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Biden tells voters ‘you ain’t black’ if you’re still deciding between him and Trump – video

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Joe Biden has been criticised after saying,'If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black'. The former vice-president made the comment in an interview with Charlamagne tha God, a co-host of the radio show 'The Breakfast Club'.

After a campaign aide said Biden had to wrap up the conversation, Charlamagne said: 'Listen, you’ve got to come see us when you come to New York, VP Biden. It’s a long way until November. We’ve got more questions.' 

'You’ve got more questions?' Biden replied. 'Well I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.' He said Charlamagne and voters should 'take a look at my record, man!'

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Biden draws criticism for saying voters who back Trump ‘ain’t black’

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Former vice-president said in an interview ‘If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black’

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden triggered a fresh controversy on Friday morning when he suggested that if American voters supported Donald Trump “then you ain’t black”.

The former vice-president did an interview with Charlamagne tha God, a co-host of the radio show The Breakfast Club. Charlamagne had pressed Biden on a number of issues, including the legalization of marijuana and his choice of running mate.

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‘All the psychoses of US history’: how America is victim-blaming the coronavirus dead

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As racism warps the US pandemic response, a health crisis has escalated into a culture war

puritans, alex azar, navajo nation,

Why do Americans represent less than 5% of the world’s population but nearly a third of the known coronavirus death toll? Not because of government incompetence, the Trump administration is arguing, but because Americans are very unhealthy.

The United States’ organized response to the pandemic had been “historic”, Trump’s health secretary, Alex Azar, told CNN on 17 May, but America “unfortunately” has a “very diverse” population, and black Americans and minorities “in particular” have “significant underlying disease”.

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Volkswagen withdraws Golf car ad that sparked racism row

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Car maker says it is ‘horrified’ by the ad that featured a large white hand ‘flicking’ a black man

Volkswagen has withdrawn a Golf car advertisement posted on its official Instagram page that the company admitted was racist and insulting, saying it would investigate how it came about.

The car company, which has already seen its reputation tarnished in the past five years after it admitted cheating diesel emissions tests, said it did not tolerate any form of racism.

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Black Americans dying of Covid-19 at three times the rate of white people

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New figures from non-partisan APM Research Lab show staggering racial divide in coronavirus death rate across US

The racial wound at the center of the coronavirus pandemic in the US continues to fester, with latest data showing that African Americans have died from the disease at almost three times the rate of white people.

New figures compiled by the non-partisan APM Research Lab and released on Wednesday under the title Color of Coronavirus provide further evidence of the staggering divide in the Covid-19 death rate between black Americans and the rest of the nation.

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‘Every stone will be uncovered’: how Georgia officials failed the Ahmaud Arbery case

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Systemic flaws within Glynn county’s district attorney offices led to a lack of action against the men involved in this ‘modern lynching’

In the days and weeks after Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed, multiple Glynn county law enforcement officials failed to thoroughly investigate his death and, in one case, refused to allow police officers to make arrests, the Guardian has learned.

Related: Ahmaud Arbery is dead because Americans think black men are criminals | Benjamin Dixon

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