Black Lives Matter

On May 25, Minneapolis police officers arrested George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, after a convenience store employee called 911 and told the police that he had bought cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. Police officers soon showed up at the scene and while in the process of arresting him, one of the officers put his knee on him for more than 8 minutes, thereby killing him.

Protests ensued all over the United States and even internationally. Initially these protests were accompanied by widespread looting of nearby stores. In many cases, the law enforcement agencies reacted forcefully against the protesters.

The issues that were brought forth included:

• Discrimination based on race

• Economic disparity

• Police brutality

• High incarceration rates for black people

Protests and the Pandemic

In a tangential way, all this is related to the Coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic already highlighted the economic disparities between the races within the United States. Nationally, African-American deaths from COVID-19 are nearly two times greater than would be expected based on their share of the population. In four states, the rate is three or more times greater. A lot of this can be attributed to the fact that African-Americans and Latinos form a higher percentage of the essential services personnel like EMT workers and have a higher chance of getting infected. Many of them do not have the ability to work remotely, nor can they afford not to work.

The George Floyd’s murder brought to the forefront the disparities that exist in society on many fronts - economic, legal, education etc.

Until the protests erupted, most Americans had been under stay-at-home orders for months as imposed by the states. Many of the restrictions were in the process of being gradually eased. The demonstrations have spurred fears that they could cause a deadly resurgence of the coronavirus. And for those sympathetic to a growing movement, deciding whether to attend protests has been complicated: Some people have avoided them entirely, reasoning that the chance of contracting the coronavirus in a crowd is too high. Others have joined despite the risks.

Public health experts emphasized that police violence against black people in America also represents a public health crisis. The anger over economic, social and health disparities fueling the protests, health experts said, are reflected in sharply higher rates of coronavirus-related death and illness among black Americans. Several counseled a “harm reduction” approach that would allow people to join the demonstrations as safely as possible.

Police Reforms

Bill DeBlasio, the mayor of New York city, pledged to remove funding from the police department and move it towards youth and social services. Less than two weeks after George Floyd's death, nine members of the Minneapolis City Council announced plans to disband the city's police force. Many cities and towns are banning chokeholds.

Removal of Monuments and Symbols

A number of monuments and symbols, mostly those of the Confederate South, were removed, or plans to remove them were announced, during the protests that followed the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, most of them in the United States. Some of these monuments have been the subject of lengthy, years-long efforts to remove them, sometimes involving legislation and/or court proceedings. These monuments symbolize a repressive era in the history of the United States including slavery and segregation.

The statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy was toppled down by a group of protestors in Richmond, Virginia on June 10, 2020. On June 4, Gov. Northam had announced that the controversial statue would be taken down and put into storage, but a Richmond judge issued a 10-day injunction blocking the removal on June 8 after the great-grandson of two men that signed a deed giving the state control of the the monument in 1890 sued the state. 

In Mobile, Alabama, the council removed a statue of Raphael Semmes, who was an officer in the Confederate navy during the American Civil War. It had been there for 120 years.

On June 28, 2020, lawmakers in Mississippi voted to bring down the 126 year old state flag dominated by the Confederate battle emblem. The vote in the Mississippi House was 91 in favor of removal and 23 opposed. The vote in the Senate was 37-14. The measure now goes to Gov. Tate Reeves, who has said he will sign it. 

Media Impact

The reality show, COPS, was cancelled by the Paramount Network after 32 seasons.  The show has been criticized over the years for its dehumanizing portrayal of African Americans and the criminal justice system. 

The movie “Gone With The Wind” was removed from the streaming service HBO Max. Over the years the movie has been criticized for its inaccurate portrayal of slavery during in the pre-civil war south.

Corporate Actions

Many leading companies have announced steps to correct the systemic racism affecting the American society. Some of these include:

Quaker Oats: It is ending the Aunt Jemima breakfast brand.

Adidas: Introduced a new initiative where it will fill up to 30% of its new positions with Black or Latino workers.

Nike: Announced $40 million donation to black community organizations

PayPal: Committing $530 million to supporting Black-owned and minority-owned businesses in the U.S., as well as bolstering its internal diversity and inclusion practices.

IBM/Microsoft/Amazon : Stop sharing facial recognition software with the police.

Alphabet: Donating $12 million to organizations working to address racial inequalities.

Peloton: Will make a $500,000 donation to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Ben and Jerry’s : Issued a powerful statement in support of Black Lives Matter, “Silence Is NOT An Option”.