As protests across America after the death of George Floyd enter its seventh day, the current US administration under Donald Trump has been quick to paint the protestors as the wrongdoers by claiming they were making this about looting rather than justice. The protest organizers have now responded. Tanzia Haq reports.
Protests across several cities in the US have become increasingly violent as police and protestors clash in demonstrations not seen in the country since the 1960s. Protestors in Washington lit vehicles on fire near the White House and shouted “You are the problem” at police blocking the protestors.
Activist and former Women’s March co-chair Tamika Mallory spoke at a rally in Minneapolis about the lootings the protestors are being accused of. Mallory said the easy way to stop the violence was to, “Arrest the cops. Charge the cops. Charge all the cops, not just some of them, not just here in Minneapolis. Charge them in every city across America where our people are being murdered. Charge them everywhere. That’s the bottom line. Charge the cops. Do your job. Do what you say this country is supposed to be about — the land of the free for all. It has not been free for Black people, and we are tired.”
Mallory’s words come at a time when citizens, frustrated by the ongoing police brutality and injustice towards Black people, have taken increasingly more destructive measures to fight back a deeply flawed justice system in the country. This response is also instigated by President Donald Trump, who has been tweeting nonstop from the White House that he will be deploying armed forces to deal with the protestors.
