Protesters with a sign featuring George Floyd’s plea to the officer who knelt on his neck: “I can’t breathe.”
Credit: © Kerem Yucel, AFP/Getty Images

Protests erupted in cities throughout the United States (and even around the world) this week, with people taking to the streets to demonstrate against racism and the police use of force against African Americans. Many protests have remained peaceful, but some have turned violent, with law enforcement shooting protesters with rubber bullets and tear gas and rioters setting fires and raiding stores.

The latest round of protests began in Minneapolis, where George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died in police custody on May 25. Cellphone video captured by witnesses showed a white police officer kneeling on the handcuffed Floyd’s neck for several minutes before his death. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was subsequently fired and charged with murder.

George Floyd, shown here, died in police custody on May 25, 2020, sparking protests against police use of force.
Credit: Offices of Ben Crump Law

From Minneapolis, protests spread to practically every major city in the United States, including Atlanta, Georgia; Los Angeles, California; and Chicago, Illinois. Some law enforcement buildings were set on fire. In several cities, protesters raided or destroyed businesses. Protests began in cities outside the United States, too. In Berlin and London, for example, people marched through the streets in solidarity (unity) with American protesters.

Floyd’s death came in the wake of two other high-profile killings of African Americans at the hands of white people. On Feb. 3, 2020, in Georgia, an African American man named Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed while jogging. (Arbery’s killers were not law enforcement officers, but many people were angered when it took months of pressure for arrests to be made in the case.) On March 13, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky, an African American woman named Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police officers executing a search warrant, who broke into her home in the middle of the night.

Demonstrations throughout the world featured signs reading “Black Lives Matter.” This slogan has become a popular rallying cry in recent years. It is also the name of an activist movement. Black Lives Matter was formed to campaign against racism and what its members consider police brutality against African Americans.

The international protests were set against the backdrop of a pandemic (global outbreak) of the coronavirus disease COVID-19. Since March, much of the country has been under strict lockdown to help in social distancing. Protests led people out of their homes to demand justice, but some authorities worried that chaotic public gatherings could contribute to the further spread of the disease.