Hundreds of people were arrested over the weekend as protesters and police clashed in cities across America after the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police sparked more than 100 protests, rallies and vigils, according to NBC News.
Mayors of major cities from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to Atlanta imposed curfews and at least 12 states, as well as Washington, D.C., activated National Guard troops in an effort to keep the peace, but protests in several cities descended into violence again as tensions boiled over.
Demonstrators confront secret service police and Park police officers outside of the White House on May 30, 2020 in Washington DC, during a protest over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes. Eric Baradat | AFP | Getty Images
Derek Chauvin, the officer filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck, was arrested and charged with murder and manslaughter.
The social unrest over police brutality comes in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 100,000 Americans and led to the worst unemployment since the Great Depression. The unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, a post-WWII record, and is likely to rise above 20%.
The black community has been hit disproportionately hard by Covid-19. Nearly 23% of all deaths from the pandemic are African American even though black people make up about 13% of the U.S. population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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