Category Archives: George Floyd

Can Joe Biden convince protesters he would be a ‘transformational’ president?

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‘It’s not enough to just be better than Trump’ Democratic hopeful told amid anti-racist uprising sparked by killing of George Floyd

Hours before peaceful protests against police brutality were forcibly dispersed so that Donald Trump could pose with a Bible in front of St John’s church, Joe Biden also went to church. 

Head bowed, Biden prayed with community leaders at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal church in his home town of Wilmington, Delaware. For days the nation had been convulsed over the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man pinned under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer for a fatal eight minutes and 46 seconds. 

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Meghan on George Floyd killing: ‘the only wrong thing to say is nothing’ – video

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In a video for a virtual graduation ceremony at her old high school in LA, the Duchess of Sussex recalled words of advice given by a teacher when she was 15, who said to her: 'Always remember to put another’s needs above your fears.' She told the graduating students: 'I am sorry that in a way we have not gotten the world to a place that you deserve it to be'

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New York Times under fire over op-ed urging Trump to ‘send in the troops’

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Decision to run opinion piece from Republican senator Tom Cotton sparks criticism from staff who say it puts people in danger

The New York Times’ decision to run an op-ed from the Republican senator Tom Cotton titled “Send in the troops” is drawing widespread criticism, including from Times staff.

In the piece, Cotton called for the use of US military troops to quell civil unrest, and indicated the president would be justified in doing so under the Insurrection Act of 1807.

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Barack Obama: ‘You matter, your lives matter, your dreams matter’ – video

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Addressing a panel from his My Brother's Keeper movement in the wake of George Floyd's death, former US president Barack Obama had a message of hope for young people of colour, saying they had witnessed too much violence. 'I want you to know you matter, your lives matter, your dreams matter,' he said.  Obama also discussed the idea that both voting and protest can 'bring about real change' and that the current scary times can be an opportunity.


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‘Sing his name’: thousands gather in London for George Floyd protest – video

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Thousands of protesters have marched through central London in an overwhelmingly peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration that culminated in passionate crowds gathering at the heart of Westminster. 

The demonstrators, the vast majority of whom were under 30, chanted: 'No justice, no peace, no racist police', 'I can’t breathe' and 'the UK is not innocent', in a lockdown-defying demonstration that was largely organised through word of mouth and social media away from established anti-racism groups.

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George Floyd killing: reports over 10,000 arrested; ex-defense secretary denounces Trump – live

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James Mattis accuses Trump of dividing US and ordering military to violate constitutional rights of Americans

Associated Press are reporting that more than 10,000 people have now been arrested in protests against racism and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death. It’s not an official figure, but comes from their own tally of arrest reports.

The AP figures show that Los Angeles has had more than a quarter of the national arrests, followed by New York, Dallas and Philadelphia. Many of the arrests have been for low-level offences such as curfew violations and failure to disperse. Hundreds were arrested on burglary and looting charges.

If you’ve been following the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag on social media you may have been surprised this morning by a sudden flood of Korean characters and the repeated phrase: “We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.”

The source of this is the world’s biggest K-Pop band, BTS, who posted on social media this morning:

우리는 인종차별에 반대합니다.
우리는 폭력에 반대합니다.
나, 당신, 우리 모두는 존중받을 권리가 있습니다. 함께 하겠습니다.

We stand against racial discrimination.
We condemn violence.
You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.#BlackLivesMatter

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Met feared ‘serious disorder’ if lockdown rules were enforced at racism protest

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Scotland Yard chief Cressida Dick also calls for justice and accountability following death of George Floyd

Britain’s top officer has said police feared there would be violence if they tried to intervene with protesters in London angered by the brutal death of George Floyd at the hands of an American officer.

Demonstrators at protests in London on Sunday and Tuesday flouted coronavirus lockdown rules on how many people can gather together.

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‘We built this country’: inspiring moments from the George Floyd protests – video

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Cities across the US witnessed another night of protests despite widespread curfews a week after George Floyd's death. Among the violence and anger, moments of peace and hope have emerged as some police forces have shown solidarity with protesters, and anti-racism demonstrations have spread around the globe

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The Gambia demands US investigation into police killing of citizen in Atlanta

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Shooting of Lamin Sisay, son of former UN diplomat, last week prompts outrage as family and friends reject police version of events

The Gambia has demanded the US investigate the police killing one of its citizens, a former UN diplomat’s son.

The shooting of Lamin Sisay, 39, in Atlanta last week prompted anger in the Gambian community, who have described it as another example of the police brutality against black Americans that has prompted country-wide protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

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George Floyd killing: thousands march peacefully in New York, defying curfew – live

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In Los Angeles, thousands took to the streets. Mayor Eric Garcetti took a knee with protestors, even as crowds chanted, “defund the police”.

In New York, thousands of protesters defied curfew and remained on the streets, as officers began making arrests.

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Justin Trudeau lost for words over Trump handling of George Floyd protests

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Canadian prime minister pauses for 20 seconds before saying: ‘We all watch in horror and consternation what’s going on in the United States’

Justin Trudeau, when asked about US president Donald Trump threatening to use the military to quell protests over the police killing of George Floyd, paused for more than 20 seconds before responding that Canadians were observing events in the US with horror.

“We all watch in horror and consternation what’s going on in the United States,” the Canadian prime minister said on Tuesday at a daily news briefing, after a reporter pressed him on Trump’s idea of using soldiers against protesters.

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‘He will never see her grow up’: tearful mother of George Floyd’s daughter – video

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Roxie Washington, the mother of George Floyd's six-year-old daughter, spoke at a news conference on Tuesday after days of protests following his death in Minneapolis. "I'm here for my baby and I'm here for George because I want justice for him," Washington said through tears. "He was a good man"

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Mark Zuckerberg defends decision to allow Trump to threaten violence on Facebook

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CEO says decision was ‘tough’ but ‘thorough’ as company faces harsh criticism and public dissent from employees

Mark Zuckerberg is standing by his decision to allow Donald Trump to threaten violence against George Floyd protesters on the platform despite harsh criticism from civil rights leaders and public dissent from his own employees, including a public resignation.

In a video conference with staff on Tuesday, Zuckerberg said that his decision to not remove Trump’s warning on social media on Friday that “when the looting starts the shooting start” was “tough” but “pretty thorough”, the New York Times reported. The company usually holds an all-staff meeting on Thursdays, but the session was moved up to address growing discontent among employees, hundreds of whom staged a “walkout” on Monday by requesting time off.

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‘How did we get here?’: Trump has normalised mayhem and the US is paying the price

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More than 100,000 have died in a pandemic and troops are on the streets. The rate of fresh affronts has outpaced the ability to digest them

The sheer tumult of the Trump era, the unceasing torrent of events that were unthinkable even hours before, has left a nation constantly off balance, unable to find its bearing and grasp how far it has traveled.

The developments of the past 24 hours were a reminder of how slippery the downward slope has been. 

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Trudeau speechless at Trump’s reaction to Floyd protests – video

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The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, was silent for 21 seconds in reaction to a question on Donald Trump's handling of protests across the US over the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer.

Trudeau said Canada also had to face up to 'systemic discrimination' and become allies against it

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‘A wake-up call for the nation’: Joe Biden addresses the killing of George Floyd – video

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Joe Biden has addressed the killing of George Floyd and the protests that his death has sparked. During a speech in Philadelphia, the Democratic presidential candidate said Floyd’s last words, 'I can’t breathe', were a 'wake-up call for our nation'. Biden also sought to draw a clear distinction between himself and Donald Trump, saying the US president was 'part of the problem'

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Mark Zuckerberg criticised by civil rights leaders over Donald Trump Facebook post

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Activists say Facebook boss’s decision to leave ‘shooting threat’ up sets dangerous precedent

Civil rights leaders have criticised Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to take no action against a Facebook post from Donald Trump appearing to threaten to start shooting “looters”, after a Monday night meeting with the company’s executives ended in acrimony.

“We are disappointed and stunned by Mark’s incomprehensible explanations for allowing the Trump posts to remain up,” Vanita Gupta, Sherrilyn Ifill and Rashad Robison said in a statement. “He did not demonstrate understanding of historic or modern-day voter suppression and he refuses to acknowledge how Facebook is facilitating Trump’s call for violence against protesters.

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‘Words of a dictator’: Trump’s threat to deploy military raises spectre of fascism

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The president suggested the US could use troops against Americans – true to the instincts of a man surrounded by sycophants

“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross,” goes an oft-quoted line of uncertain origin.

On Monday evening, Donald Trump, with four US flags behind him, threatened to send in the military against the American people, then crossed the road to pose for a photo outside a historic church while clutching an upside-down Bible.

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In 1919, the state failed to protect black Americans. A century later, it’s still failing | Carol Anderson

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There is something so wounded in American society that basic commitment to justice is not part of the operating code

In 1919, as soldiers returned from the first world war, many white Americans saw African American men in military uniforms for the first time. That sight, and the challenge it posed to the political, social, and economic order, was deeply threatening to them. Groups of armed white men hunted down and slaughtered hundreds of black Americans across the country. The wave of lynchings and race riots came to be known as the Red Summer.

The black community did its best to fight back, without protection from the state. In some cases, police actively participated in the lynchings. The US attorney general, A Mitchell Palmer, claimed that leftwing radicals were behind the uprisings – a false charge and one that further endangered African American lives. Palmer worked for President Woodrow Wilson, an ardent segregationist who screened Birth of a Nation in the White House and praised the Ku Klux Klan even as it deployed terrorism to keep blacks away from the voting booth. Wilson had been silent while whites slaughtered African Americans in East St Louis in 1917, and he did little to nothing in 1919 when they again attacked and killed black people, this time on an even more horrific and grisly scale.

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