By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Fifteen straight days of protests in the United States and beyond against police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis have galvanised political leaders in and outside Congress to listen and to take action against systemic racism in America.
Global protests against the killing of Floyd on May 25 are turning out to achieve even what the election of Barack Obama as president could not.
Obama, because of his coalition of all communities black, white, and Latino, had to thread a thin line in discussing race, in order not to be seen as representing only black folks.
But outrage and marches from coast to coast by all races against the death of Floyd are getting everyone talking openly about racism and producing sweeping reform bills in police and the criminal justice system.
There is also soul-searching by ordinary Americans and by political leaders, including white politicians with local and national clout.
On Monday, House of Representative Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and other House Democrats took a knee (knelt on one knee) for 9 minutes in solidarity with black protesters.
Rare bipartisan consensus
In Washington and in cities and states across the country, political leaders are beginning to listen, CNN reports
A rare bipartisan consensus has emerged that police reform will be necessary to respond to the groundswell.
Now, Republican officials in red states like Texas, purple states like Wisconsin, and lawmakers in Washington are scrambling to appear responsive to the groundswell calling for change.
On Monday, Democrats unveiled a sweeping police reform bill in response to protests. And by Tuesday, congressional Republicans in the House and Senate said they planned to introduce their own reform proposals.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has said publicly that he would be open to supporting some provisions in the Democrats’ bill.
The provisions include linking police training to federal funds, making it easier to remove officers who are accused of misconduct, and a provision to prevent officers from moving from city to city in an effort to escape past misconduct allegations.
“I want to work and see that we get law. This is a moment in time,” McCarthy told the Los Angeles Times. “This is the moment where we ought to find where we can come together on.”
The lone African American Senate Republican, Tim Scott of South Carolina, presented ideas on police reform to Republicans during their lunch on Tuesday.
In the House, a GOP aide said Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, would be releasing their own proposal this week.
In Texas, where Floyd grew up, that state’s Republican Govenor Greg Abbott appeared to go further. Speaking to reporters outside of Floyd’s memorial in Houston, Abbott directly linked reform to the issue of racism.
“I promised his family, that I would use and incorporate their family in these discussions, of the discussions about the pathway forward will not be taken over by politicians but will be led by family members, that will be led by victims, that will be led by people who have suffered because of racism for far too long in this state and in this country,” Abbott said.
“Other actions are being worked on to make sure that we will not have police brutality like what happened to George Floyd.”
Below, the BBC reports how even Ku Ku Klux territories and other Americans white enclaves are voicing support for change.
Why U.S. protests are so powerful this time
Thousands of Americans are taking to the streets to protest about racism – many for the first time in their lives. Why has this particular tragedy struck such a chord?
George Floyd is not the first African American whose death in police custody sparked protests.
There were also rallies and calls for change after Tamir Rice, Michael Brown and Eric Garner were killed by police.
But this time seems different, with the response more sustained and widespread. There have been demonstrations across the US – in all 50 states and DC – including in cities and rural communities that are predominantly white.
Local governments, sports and businesses appear readier to take a stand this time – most notably with the Minneapolis city council pledging to dismantle the police department.
And the Black Lives Matter protests this time seem more racially diverse – with larger numbers of white protesters, and protesters from other ethnicities, standing with black activists.
A number of different factors combined to create “the perfect storm for rebellion” over Floyd’s death, Frank Leon Roberts, an activist who teaches a course on the Black Lives Matter movement at New York University, told the BBC.
Floyd’s death was particularly ‘gruesome and obvious’
A police officer, Derek Chauvin, kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes – even as Floyd repeatedly said “I can’t breathe” and eventually became unresponsive. The incident was clearly recorded on video.
“In many previous instances of police violence, there’s a possibility of an ambiguous narrative – there’s a partial view of what happened, or the police officer says they made a split-second decision because they feared for their life,” Roberts said.
“In this case, it was a completely unambiguous act of injustice – where people could see this man [Floyd] was completely unarmed and incapacitated.”
Many who joined the recent protests were first-time protesters, who said seeing Floyd’s death made them feel that they simply couldn’t stay at home anymore.
“There are hundreds of deaths that aren’t caught on video, but I think the gruesomeness and obvious hatred of the video woke people up,” Sarina LeCroy, a protester from Maryland, told the BBC.
Similarly, Wengfay Ho said she had always supported the Black Lives Matter movement, but Floyd’s death was a particular “catalyst” that prompted her to take to the streets for the first time.
It “prompted a lot more emotion, and the call for change is so much more urgent right now”.
It comes during a pandemic, and high unemployment
“History changes when you have an unexpected convergence of forces,” argued Roberts.
Floyd’s death came in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic that has led to Americans being ordered to stay in their homes, and sparked the highest level of unemployment since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
“You have a situation where the entire country is on lockdown, and more people are inside watching TV… more people are being forced to pay attention – they’re less able to look away, less distracted.”
The pandemic has already changed the way we live and work, and led to many Americans at home “asking themselves what parts of normal are no longer acceptable”, he added.
And on a practical level, the US’s 13 per cent unemployment level means that more people than usual can protest and campaign without juggling work commitments.
‘It was the last straw’
Floyd’s death came shortly after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.
Arbery, 25, was shot on February 23 while jogging in Georgia, after residents said he resembled a burglary suspect. Breonna Taylor, 26, was a health worker who was shot eight times when police entered her flat in Kentucky.
Both their names have featured on placards at the latest Black Lives Matters protests, with demonstrators being urged to chant Taylor’s name.
Roberts described Floyd’s death as “the last straw for many communities”, adding that the fact this happened during the summer, when people want to go outdoors, is also significant.
The fact that this is an election year also means that politicians are more likely to pay attention and respond, he said.
These protests appear more racially diverse
While there is no hard data on the ethnicity of protesters, many of the demonstrations appear to have a high proportion of supporters who are not African American themselves.
For example, in Washington DC, tens of thousands took to the streets last Saturday – and about half the crowd appeared to be non-black. Many protesters brought placards that specifically highlighted their desire to be allies to the movement.
Part of this could be down to a shift in opinion.
A poll for ABC suggested that 74 per cent of Americans felt that the killing of Floyd was part of a broader problem in the treatment of African Americans by police.
This was a sharp rise from a similar poll in 2014, following deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner – where 43 per cent of Americans felt that those incidents reflected a broader problem, ABC reported.
While the Black Lives Matter movement has “always been multi-racial… white folks in the U.S. don’t really have a vocabulary for talking about race”, Roberts said.
“It’s uncomfortable, and they think any conversation about racism is an attack on their very existence, or feel they don’t have licence to speak out in case they offend someone.”
However, he said he now sees more white allies speaking up, and “feeling more comfortable with being uncomfortable.”
In addition to huge rallies in major cities, there have also been protests in small towns, including in Anna, described locally as one of “the most racist places” in Illinois and Vidor, in Texas, which was once infamous as a stronghold of the Ku Klux Klan white supremacist group.
The fact that the circumstances around Floyd’s death seemed particularly clear-cut may have also made it easier for people to unite.
In one opinion piece, titled “My tiny, white town just held a protest. We’re not alone“, journalist Judy Mueller said she was “gobsmacked” to see about 40 people at a vigil in Norwood, Colorado.
The vigil organisers there said “support for police and Black Lives Matter are not exclusive”, while a local town board trustee, Republican Candy Meehan, said “I don’t think this is a political matter… wrong is wrong.”
Black activists have welcomed the broadened support.
Eric Wood, a DC resident, said he joined demonstrations after Trayvon Martin’s death in 2012, and Breonna Taylor’s death earlier this year, but the latest wave of protests were “probably the biggest yet”.
“African Americans and minorities have been protesting this [racism] for years. Our voices clearly do not hold as much power as if we’ve got some of our white counterparts to help us.”
Meanwhile, Roberts argued: “History has been clear that the people who need to change before the dam breaks are people who have been beneficiaries of the existing systems.”
Did police actions have an impact?
The vast majority of protests across the U.S. were peaceful – and in several cases local police officers also showed their support.
However, there were some high-profile confrontations and clashes between protesters and police.
Last week, authorities forcibly removed peaceful protesters from a square outside of the White House. Shortly afterwards, President Donald Trump crossed the street to have his photo taken in front of a church.
Dozens of journalists covering the protests have also reported being targeted by security forces using tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray.
Some demonstrators took to the streets after they felt police used excessive force.
Ben Longwell and Justine Summers said they were medical workers who decided to join the protests in DC – despite the difficulty of maintaining social distancing – as a result of police actions.
“This is the first time in my life I’ve been afraid of the police,” Longwell said.
Meanwhile, Summers said she had not planned to take part – but “when I heard about how violent the police were getting… it seemed like a thing that I needed to do”.
One poll conducted for CNN suggested that 84 per cent of Americans felt peaceful protests in response to police violence against African Americans was justified, while 27 per cent said violent protests were also justified – although support for violent protests was split sharply along political lines.
“The reality is we don’t want anyone hurt. But we also have to realise that as a political and media strategy, for better of worse, rioting is often a way for activists to ensure that cameras stay on the issue,” said Roberts.
Where could these protests lead?
“Many demonstrators have been calling for specific changes – including making it mandatory for police officers to wear body cameras, reducing funding for police forces, or encouraging more people to vote.
Roberts said it was too early to tell whether the current protests would lead to lasting change – “remember the civil rights movement [of the 1950s and 1960s] went on for over a decade.”
However, he was also hopeful, saying: “We live in a country where it only takes one Rosa Parks-like moment to change things.”
Parks was arrested after she refused to give up her seat for a white man in 1955 – sparking boycotts, and a mass movement which eventually led to ground breaking civil rights legislation in 1964.
Many protesters in DC last weekend also felt that they were on the cusp of a historic moment.
“We are at a point where things could really change,” said Laura Hopman, adding that she brought her two nine-year-old sons with her because “I want them to be a part of this – to make it a turning point in their lives and many other peoples’ lives.”
Dylan Pegram, 10, was also with there his dad, on his first-ever march.
“I found it kinda stressful, but at the same time it’s kinda good, because we need change,” he said.
