Leah Millis

Racial Justice Protests: 2020

  • Story summary: On May 25, 2020 George Floyd, a Black man, was arrested by Minneapolis police for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill. Not twenty minutes after the police first arrived on the scene, Floyd was laying on the ground showing no signs of life. Several of the officers held him on the ground, including white officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, even after Floyd pleaded that he couldn't breathe multiple times and became unresponsive. Floyd was pronounced dead not long after he was transported to a medical facility. Witnesses' videos of Floyd's death spread around the world and sparked an international outcry. Minneapolis erupted in protest and a brief period of unrest and protests calling for racial equality and serious policing reform spread across the country, leading to a historic year of protest in the United States.Caption:Rain pours as local activist C'Monie Scott raises her fist while people chant for justice around her at a memorial site for George Floyd outside of Cup Foods June 2, 2020. The memorial is located at the site where Floyd was pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police for over eight minutes even as he plead that he couldn't breathe until he became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
  • Police officers are seen advancing through tear gas and smoke grenades after they cleared an intersection of mostly seated protesters who were out for George Floyd after curfew was broken in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. May 30, 2020.
  • An injured protester looks at a projectile fired by police after police cleared an intersection with teargas and munitions of mostly seated protesters who were out for George Floyd after curfew was broken in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. May 30, 2020.
  • Fireworks rain down near police officers as they hold positions on the roof of their station in Minneapolis, May 29, 2020, after unrest and protests erupted in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd.
  • A young man with dried eye wash on his face used to treat tear gas stares at a line of police after a day of protest calling for justice for George Floyd was suddenly broken up by a semi-truck nearly running through a crowd of demonstrators in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. May 31, 2020. Police moved into the agitated crowd and eventually used chemical irritants to disperse them.
  • A young man gestures as he walks along the side of the protesters during a rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. May 31, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
  • A protester is detained during a rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. May 31, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
  • A member of Minneapolis police aims a {quote}less lethal{quote} weapon at seated protesters from a few feet away as they hold their hands up after a group of them were rounded up for a mass arrest following another day of protest calling for justice for George Floyd in Minneapolis May 31, 2020.
  • Damaged businesses can be seen after another night of unrest following George Floyd's death in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., May 30, 2020.
  • Demonstrators gather in Lafayette Park near the White House during a protest against racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Washington, U.S., June 6, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
  • Protesters link arms during a march as racial inequality protests continue, in?Washington, U.S., June 23, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
  • A demonstrator stands on a post with a Black Lives Matter signboard at the newly named Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House, during a protest against racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Washington, U.S., June 6, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
  • Twana and her baby Bonita are seen wearing protective goggles in case police use chemical irritants as they take part in a march for racial equality in downtown Washington, D.C., June 23, 2020, as protests against police brutality and in support of Black lives continue across the country.
  • A Trump hat is burnt by protester Mark Sesay, after it was removed from a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump who was told to leave, during Fourth of July holiday, at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, U.S., July 4, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
  • Demonstrators kneel with their hands in the air outside the White House, during a protest against racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Washington, U.S., June 6, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
  • Policemen use pepper spray on demonstrators during a scuffle at a protest near the Charlotte Convention Center, the site of the Republican National Convention, in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. August 23, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
  • Diners have their meal as protesters tell them about Deon Kay, who died recently after he was shot by local police, in Washington, U.S., September 5, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
  • Protesters lie in the middle of the highway for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time a Minneapolis police officer held his knee to George Floyd's neck, killing Floyd, during a march as racial inequality protests continue in Washington, U.S., June 23, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
  • A young man raises his fist as he sits in front of a mural of George Floyd at a memorial site for Floyd outside of Cup Foods June 2, 2020. The memorial is located at the site where Floyd was pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police for over eight minutes even as he plead that he couldn't breathe until he became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead in Minneapolis. The protester, who preferred not to be named, said he was one of the witnesses on the street who recorded the death of Floyd on his phone.
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