Tens of Thousands Turn Out Across US to Protest Police Brutality
Tens of thousands of people in cities across the US have waged huge rallies to protest persisting police brutality, racial profiling and the latest brutal killing of an African American man in Minneapolis that sparked unprecedented protest events throughout the country in the past week.
Massive crowds poured out into major US cities on Saturday as daily demonstrations against police brutality – including violent encounters between protesters and riot police as well as US national guard forces — continued since the death of George Floyd on May 25, with the number of protesters reaching record levels in populous cities such as Washington DC, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston and San Francisco.
The protests broke out across the country last week after a video footage of Floyd’s killing went viral. It showed former officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, remaining in the position even after the victim became unresponsive.
US police forces in different cities demonstrated their brutality during protest rallies in recent years by severe beating and arresting of protesters and even journalists, using tear gas and rubber bullets, helicopter crowd control tactics and other forceful measures.
This is while rally organizers and protesters across the US are also demanding sweeping reforms to address police brutality and racial inequity.
In Washington — expected to be the scene of the largest protests over the weekend — thousands gathered at numerous rallies across the city from the Lincoln Memorial, to Freedom Plaza, to Capitol Hill amid a heavy security presence, including members of the US National Guard.
Local press reports also cited Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy as saying on Friday that local officials were projecting between 100,000 and 200,000 protesters over the weekend.
Protesters in the US capital city began to assemble on 16th Street and the newly-named Black Lives Matter Plaza just blocks from the White House.
Hundreds of demonstrators further made their way to the Lincoln Memorial near midday, where protest rallies began with crowds of people shouting Floyd’s name and demanding an end to police brutality.
“Time after time, we see the murders. Racism didn’t just start. It’s just been filmed,” said one of the speakers at the rally, known as DJ Quicksilva. “Now that we see it, we’re still not getting the justice. This time we’re not going to stop fighting until we get a conviction.”
In New York City, multiple protest rallies were waged as they have every day for more than a week. Several thousand people gathered near the northwest corner of central park for a demonstration called “The March for Stolen Dreams and Looted Lives.” .
A group of teachers also marched in downtown Manhattan holding up a banner that read “Black Students Matter” as well as other signs demanding an end to the school-to-prison pipeline.
In Philadelphia, demonstrations started at the city’s art museum as protesters made the trek to City Hall, chanting “No justice, no peace. No racist police.”
Hundreds also took part in rallies across the northeastern state of Massachusetts in cities of Worcester, Cambridge, Salem, Lawrence, and at the University of Massachusetts Boston Campus Center in Boston.
The Midwestern city of Chicago was also the site of massive protest rallies that began at Union Park that marched through West Side Saturday afternoon.
Moreover, demonstrations across the western state of California drew crowds of thousands, with protestors marching across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Thousands more also took part in protest rallies in the state’s other major cities of Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento, where people marched near the state capitol where “Black Lives Matter” has been painted in giant letters, stretching three blocks.
There was also a heavy presence of National Guard forces during Los Angeles protests, as demonstrators made their way to protest at LA City Hall.
This is while thousands further gathered in the French Quarter of the southern city of New Orleans for a protest rally Friday evening, as authorities blocked Jackson Square following reports that some protesters called for the removal of Andrew Jackson’s statue.
Meanwhile, a long line of people — some chanting “No justice, no peace” — waited outside a church in North Carolina for a memorial service for Floyd as ceremonies to mark his life and mourn his death continued on Saturday.
A hearse carrying Floyd’s body arrived Saturday morning for a public viewing of his casket and private memorial held in Hoke County in the southern state. Hundreds of people from the area came to pay their respects. A group of mourners on horseback visited the church in tribute to Floyd.
The weekend protests across the US come as Democratic law makers plan to introduce wide-ranging legislation on Monday to combat racial inequality. The package, crafted by the Congressional Black Caucus will include ways to eradicate racial profiling, rein in excessive force used by police, and repeal the so-called qualified immunity doctrine.
Source: Press TV
Y.A