People attend a rally at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall during protests over the death of George Floyd on June 7, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (AFP photo)
A new wave of anti-racism protests has once again swept across the United States, demanding police reform following the death in custody of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis last month.
Protesters took to the streets in several US cities on Sunday to demand justice for George Floyd, who died on May 25 after an officer kneeled his neck for nearly nine minutes.
In Los Angeles, a crowd estimated by a local television station at 20,000 assembled in Hollywood Boulevard after a Twitter message from the rapper YG on Saturday.
In New York, at least half a dozen groups of protesters marched through midtown Manhattan, carrying handmade signs with slogans like "Defund the Police, Fund Schools," among others.
One large group stopped outside Trump International Hotel in Manhattan, chanting, "Throw him out" on their way to Central Park.
Some other protesters marched toward Times Square but were stopped by police who blocked access to the famous "Crossroads of the World," best known for the annual New Years Eve ball drop.
Criticized by activists, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the curfew was being lifted on Sunday, a day ahead of schedule.
De Blasio, who activists say should have reined in NYPD officers during recent protests, also announced a series of reforms he claimed were designed to build trust between city residents and the police department.
In the nations capital, a large and diverse crowd of demonstrators packed streets near the White House, chanting, "This is what democracy looks like!" and "I cant breathe."
"I have cops in my family, I do believe in a police presence," said Nikky Williams, a black Air Force veteran who marched in Washington. "But I do think that reform has got to happen."
A newly built fence around the White House was decorated by protesters with signs, including some that read, "Black Lives Matter" and "No Justice, No Peace."
Utahs Republican senator Mitt Romney - a critic of Donald Trump - also participated in the protests in Washington D.C. late on Sunday afternoon.
Sizable protests were also held in other cities including Chicago, Austin, Boston, Philadelphia, Compton, Milwaukee and elsewhere.
In Minneapolis, the mayor reiterated on Sunday that he did not support abolishing the citys police force hours after the city council voted to do so.
"A veto-proof majority of the MPLS City Council just publicly agreed that the Minneapolis Police Department is not reformable and that were going to end the current policing system," Alondra Cano, a member of the Minneapolis council, said on Twitter.
Mayor Jacob Frey, however, said, "Were ready to dig in and enact more community-led, public safety strategies on behalf of our city. But, I do not support abolishing the Minneapolis Police Department."
A day earlier, he told an angry crowd, "I do not support the full abolition of the Minneapolis Police Department," prompting booing and chants of "Go home Jacob, go home" and "Shame, shame, shame."
SOURCE: PRESS TV
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/18327
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