Washington D.C. [USA], May 31 (ANI): After a global pandemic which has now killed more than 100,000 in the United States and left almost 40 million unemployed in a devastating blow to the country’s economy, America is gradually plunging into another crisis after sporadic violence across cities over the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis at the hands of police last week, The Washington Post said in a report.
The anger had been simmering for days – but now it is rapidly escalating through all cities in the US. It will prove difficult to contain because the protesters are demanding not a specific measure but a radical overhaul of America ‘s entire criminal justice system. In Atlanta, a crowd also attacked the headquarters of CNN.
“The threads of our civic life could start unravelling because everybody’s living in a tinderbox,” Douglas Brinkley, a historian and professor from Rice University in Houston was quoted as saying.
Barbara Ransby, a political activist and historian from the University of Illinois in Chicago, further told the media that the toll of the coronavirus outbreak made long-standing racial inequities newly stark.
Then, images of police violence made those same disparities visceral. “People are seething about all kinds of things,” said Ransby, the author of ‘Making All Black Lives Matter: Reimagining Freedom in the Twenty-First Century’.
“There are major turning points and ruptures in history. . . . This is one of these moments, but we’ve not seen how it will fully play out,” she added.
In the days after a 46-year-old black man died in the custody of Minneapolis police in an incident caught on video, demonstrators took to the streets.
In that city, a police precinct was breached and set ablaze, along with other businesses. In Colorado, shots were fired near the statehouse. At a protest in Louisville, seven people were shot.
Authorities announced charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter against the officer in the Minneapolis case on Friday — which observers saw as a development that might quell some of the immediate unrest, as reported by the Post.
But some said the tumult, set in the broader context of the twin health and economic emergencies, could mark a rupture as dramatic as signature turning points in the country’s history, from the economic dislocation of the Great Depression to the social convulsions of 1968.
“There seems to be very powerful inertia pushing us back to normal. I’m sceptical of those who think this coronavirus is going to change everything,” said Eric Foner, a historian at Columbia University.
It was only in February that the Senate voted to acquit Trump. The next month, much of America n business and social activity shut down in an attempt to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The country has just now begun to reopen, with culture wars raging over how and when it is safe and appropriate to do so.
Then, this week, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into the neck of a handcuffed black man, pinning him to the ground.
George Floyd died. His cries of “I can’t breathe” quickly rocketed around the world. “It’s natural to wish for life to ‘just get back to normal’ as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us,” former President Barack Obama said in a statement.
“But we have to remember that for millions of America ns, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly ‘normal’ — whether it’s while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park,” he added further.
But Trump responded to the latest crisis on Friday in his usual way: by lashing out. In a tweet, the president attacked Minneapolis’s mayor, a Democrat; labelled the protesters “THUGS”; and vowed to send in the National Guards.
The events amount to more than a crisis. The anger of the protesters is directed at the police, at prosecutors and at the President.
Above all, it is aimed at racial injustices – and many of those have been amplified during the pandemic. They obviously present a serious challenge to the country’s long-term prosperity and stability. (ANI)
Protests intensify, National Guard called by 6 states
Protests across the United States surged on Saturday (local time) as at least six states have called on the National Guard to get the situation under control amid raging demonstrations in Minneapolis and other places, following the death of African-American man George Floyd in police custody.
Following Floyd’s death, a series of protest s which started in Minneapolis has now spread across the entire country, CNN reported.
A number of roadways into Minneapolis is closing at 8 pm ET tonight, according to a tweet from the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Meanwhile, other US states and cities are too seeing large-scale demonstrations.
Denver Mayor Michael B Hancock threatened those who may be thinking of inciting violence during peaceful protests, will no longer be tolerated.
“When there are agitators with selfish motives and reckless intentions, hijacking demonstrations and inciting violence with homemade explosives, rocks, bottles, graffiti and vandalism, our officers will respond to maintain people’s safety, to protect themselves and to protect public and private property,” the Denver Mayor was quoted as saying by CNN.
Law enforcement officers in Chicago arrested 108 people during mass protest s provoked by police actions in Minneapolis, where Floyd, had lost his life after being arrested, the media reported on Saturday.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the city will have a curfew beginning at 8 pm Saturday until 5 am ET on Sunday. “To increase safety for demonstrators, law enforcement and all citizens of Los Angeles, we are putting a curfew in place from 8 pm to 5 am,” the mayor tweeted.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said that 137 people were arrested at Friday night’s protest s in the city’s downtown area, according to a tweet from Houston Police Department.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has instituted a mandatory curfew effective at 8 pm ET on Saturday night through 6 am ET on Sunday morning, the Philadelphia Police Department tweeted.
“Only persons with essential duties will be permitted outdoors,” the police department said. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Saturday that local authorities would deploy state resources, namely 1,500 officers, to major cities, including Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.
A total of four police officers involved in the arrest have been fired. Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer involved in the death Floyd has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
A bystander video recording showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for at least eight minutes, while Floyd was saying that he could not breathe.
The US Department of Justice has made the FBI investigation into Floyd’s death a top priority.
President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that if the unrest continues in US cities, then the federal government would step in and the military would be used.
Speaking at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Trump said the death of Floyd was a “grave tragedy” but warned against surrendering to hostility.
27 people arrested in US city of Seattle
At least 27 people were arrested on Saturday night in protests over the death of an unarmed black man in Seattle city of Washington, CNN reported citing police.
Police department chief Carmen Best said that the people were arrest for offences varied from assault to arson, destruction, and looting.
“The priority is protecting life and ending the destruction. At this moment we know multiple officers and civilians have been injured,” she said.
Protests have erupted in at least 30 US cities over George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minnesota.
Minnesota police have also made dozens of arrests in the Minneapolis area. At least 25 cities across 16 states have imposed curfews due to the raging unrest.
The 46-year-old’s death has sparked outrage across the nation. Floyd was detained and subsequently died in police custody in Minneapolis on Monday.
A bystander video recording showed a police man kneeling on Floyd’s neck for at least eight minutes, while Floyd kept saying that he could not breathe.
A total of four police officers involved in the arrest have been fired. Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer involved in the death Floyd has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Despite the action against police officers, protests continue to rage across the country.
President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that if the unrest continues in US cities, then the federal government would step in and the military would be used.
Speaking at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Trump said the death of Floyd was a “grave tragedy” but warned against surrendering to hostility.(ANI)
