After 15 stunning days of anti-racist protests … what happens next?

Can the phenomenal response to the police killing of George Floyd be channeled to secure lasting political change?

The New Yorker writer Jelani Cobb captured best the sense of wonder at what is happening on the streets of America. He posted a tweet from Mitt Romney, the Republican senator from Utah, which showed the former presidential candidate marching alongside demonstrators under the banner Black Lives Matter.

“Ladies and gentleman,” Cobb remarked. “This is what you call uncharted territory.”

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Minneapolis pledges to dismantle its police department – how will it work?

A veto-proof council majority says the city will move to a community-based public safety model – but what will that entail?

Nine members of Minneapolis city council have vowed to dismantle the city’s police department, which was responsible for the death of George Floyd, and replace it with a new community-based system of public safety.

Related: George Floyd protests: Democrats take a knee before unveiling police reform bill – live

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‘Shame!’: Minneapolis mayor heckled by protesters – video

Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, was heckled by a crowd of protesters telling him to 'go home' on Saturday  after he ruled out defunding the police department during a demonstration.

A majority of the Minneapolis city council pledged on Sunday to disband the police department, with a veto-proof majority, council members declared their intent to 'dismantle' and 'abolish' the embattled police agency responsible for George Floyd’s death

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In their own words: the protesters at the heart of America’s uprising

The killing of George Floyd sparked protests across America. Here, those who have taken to the street in Minneapolis explain what moved them to action

It was a protest that sparked a wave of dissent across the country, culminating in something never seen before: Americans across all 50 states coming together to denounce police brutality and the culture of impunity that shrouds their institution.

Related: Detroit's largely peaceful protests seen very differently from white suburb

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‘We will not be silent’: protests head into second weekend after George Floyd’s killing – live

After a day of protests across Australia, Guardian staff have compiled some of the most striking images.

Tens of thousands rallied in state capital cities and towns to march against Indigenous deaths in custody and the killing of George Floyd.

The nationwide anti-police brutality protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd in the US have been marked by widespread incidents of police violence, including punching, kicking, gassing, pepper-spraying and driving vehicles at often peaceful protesters in states across the country.

The actions have left thousands of protesters in jail and injured many others, leaving some with life-threatening injuries.

Related: Protests about police brutality are met with wave of police brutality across US

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George Floyd memorial: lawyer says ‘pandemic of racism’ led to killing – live

With protests over police brutality and the death of George Flloyd continuing around the US today, a short report from our voting rights editor on events this afternoon in Brooklyn, New York City:

Thousands of protestors converged on Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza today for a memorial for George Floyd. The event was attended by Floyd’s brother, Terrence, who addressed the crowd with calls for solidarity and peaceful protest in memory of his brother.

Emotional and heartfelt speech from George’s Floyd’s brother Terrence today at the memorial in Cadman Plaza. #blacklivesmatter #powertothepeople #georgefloyd pic.twitter.com/UpE5J6euor

Rev Al Sharpton also used his eulogy at the memorial service for George Floyd to announce that, with the Floyd family, he would organise a march on Washington on 28 August to demand reform of the criminal justice system.

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Facebook employees hold virtual walkout over Mark Zuckerberg’s refusal to act against Trump

  • Workers dissatisfied with decision to not remove the president’s post
  • An oversight board member is involved in a racist speech controversy

Facebook employees are staging a rebellion over Mark Zuckerberg’s refusal to act against Donald Trump, expressing their dissatisfaction with their boss on social media in a rare public display of dissent and, in some cases, staging a “virtual” walkout.

Disagreement came from employees at all levels of the company, including some senior staff. Particular criticism was levelled at Zuckerberg’s personal decision to leave up the Facebook version of a tweet sent by Trump in which the president appeared to encourage police to shoot rioters. By contrast, Twitter hid the message behind a warning.

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George Floyd: fires burn near White House as US-wide protests rage – live

A striking detail from tonight’s coverage has been reports that as protesters surged towards the White House on Friday night, US president Donald Trump, his wife Melania and son Barron briefly retreated to the Presidential Emergency Operations Centre – a fortified bunker-like structure beneath the residence.

The last time a US head of state was publicly known to have used the bunker was on 11 September, 2001, where senior members of the George W Bush administration spent that day after their west wing offices were evacuated. There are no other public reports of presidents needing to use the area since - the New York Times, which first reported this detail, says “it has not been used much, if at all” since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But it notes the area has since been strengthened to withstand the impact of a passenger jet.

Related: Trump fled to bunker as protests over George Floyd raged outside White House

My colleague Julian Borger in Washington DC has just filed this update on a tense evening the capital.

Multiple fires broke out near the White House late on Sunday evening, as angry protesters gathered in Washington DC for the third night in a row following the death of George Floyd.

Sunday evening’s protests in front of the White House started relatively cheerfully, with a crowd of a few thousand in Lafayette park. Earlier in the day, demonstrators had marched through the city’s downtown, chanting “George Floyd! Say his name!” and “No Justice! No Peace!”

Related: Fires light up Washington DC on third night of George Floyd protests

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Killer Mike: ‘You have a duty not to burn your own house down’ – video

Rapper Killer Mike addressed demonstrators in Atlanta asking them not to destroy the city but to 'plot, plan, strategise, organise and mobilise' for political change.

'I'm mad as Hell,' he said, tearful at a news conference on Friday night, urging protesters to seek political reform instead of destroying the city of Atlanta

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George Floyd: protesters and police clash in cities across US – live

The Guardian’s Ankita Rao, reporting from New York, on the mayor’s controversial late-night statements:

Mayor Bill de Blasio took to the podium on Saturday night to tell protestors across the city that they were “heard, loud and clear”.

I’m in Brooklyn to talk about tonight’s protests. https://t.co/oBVXGh7JWo

US prosecutors have filed federal charges against three people in New York, accusing them of using “molotov cocktails” on New York police vehicles during the Friday protests:

BREAKING: Three people charged with federal crimes in connection with Molotov cocktail attacks on the NYPD during #GeorgeFloyd protests in NYC Friday night. pic.twitter.com/dyaDJByMit

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Protests spread across US in response to George Floyd killing – video

Protests against police brutality ignited across the US overnight and into Saturday morning following the killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, who died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck.

Demonstrators chanted 'hands up, don't shoot' and 'I can't breathe' as they clashed with police

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George Floyd killing: protests rage as anger mounts in cities across US – live

In Los Angeles, protesters marched through the downtown area before shutting the 110 freeway.

From @KTLA: protestors have shut down the 110 freeway pic.twitter.com/1WI75tIMOl

LAPD seen trying to detain protesters after squad car windows smashed, officer attacked downtown https://t.co/uHrpaRp3xm pic.twitter.com/gmxNAdO1uM

Demonstrator in DTLA made a cordon blocking the road out of Bird scooters pic.twitter.com/aV8c63SG4k

Kellie Chauvin, the wife of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd, is divorcing her husband because of his role in Floyd’s death.

Kellie Chauvin,
Through her attorney wife of former Officer Derek Chauvin the former Minneapolis Police Officer charged with murdering #GeorgeFloyd released a statement saying she is devastated by Floyd’s death, sends condolences to his family and is divorcing her husband @wcco pic.twitter.com/A5n7bYgdbK

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Van Jones on George Floyd killing: ‘The world witnessed a lynching’ – video

Activist Van Jones has said that the killing of George Floyd was a 'lynching'. Floyd, 46, a black man, was killed in police custody on Monday night after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on his neck.

In the aftermath, protests have flared up across the US with people demanding justice and systemic change to end police brutality. The CNN political commentator added that everyone should: 'Look in the mirror at how you choke off black opportunity'

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

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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Minnesota governor pledges justice after George Floyd killing: ‘normal was not working’ – video

Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, pledges 'swift' justice for George Floyd, adding that 'normal was not working for many communities' after huge protests across the state following Floyd's death in which a white police officer pressed a knee on his neck

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The Minnesota paradox: how race divides prosperous Minneapolis

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

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

  • 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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