No justice? No peace: The nation expresses heartache, anger and hope
Stunning ... the phrase "Black Lives Matter" painted in giant letters on the street that leads straight to the White House.
Yesterday, the newly-renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza filled up with so many people, you could barely see the lettering.
The numbers were the story, as the week began, and when it ended.
It was a week when the screams of ambulances racing COVID victims to hospitals were drowned out by the sound of police sirens and helicopters, as hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in all 50 states, and beyond, risked exposing themselves to coronavirus – risked their lives – to voice their anguish at the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis … to vent their anger at another white cop killing another black man who was unarmed.
"We don't want any more prayers or thoughts," said protester Nikki Goodwin. "We're done. This is it. This is the line in the sand."
On Wednesday the charges against Derek Chauvin were upped to second-degree murder, and the three officers who stood by or assisted as Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck were also charged.
The demonstrations, eventually about so much more than George Floyd, were mostly peaceful, but not always. In some cities, police officers joined in solidarity with protestors; in others, police attacked them.
Nights brought chaos, followed by curfews – destruction of businesses large and small. In New York City, even Macy's was hit.
It was a week when Americans had to grapple with the question of whether the violence and the looting were expressions of legitimate, pent-up rage, or deliberately provoked, or just orgies of opportunistic criminality.
It was also a week of powerful imagery – the Trump administration siccing police and National Guard troops on lawful demonstrators around the White House, to make way for the president's photo op.
Mr. Trump's threat to turn "We the people" into the "enemy": "If a city or a state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them," he said Monday.
It was the week former Secretary of Defense. Gen. James Mattis couldn't keep quiet any more.
A surprise about-face from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell: "We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier, and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter."
This past week, cultural organizations and corporations issued statement after statement declaring their commitment to racial justice and equality, ViacomCBS included.
So, is something different this time?
If The Rev. Al Sharpton's words at a memorial service for George Floyd in Minneapolis on Thursday were a sign, then ... maybe: "You changed the world, George," Rev. Sharpton said. "We going to keep marching, George. We going to keep fighting, George. We done turned the clock, George …
"It's time to stand up in George's name and say, 'Get your knee off our necks!'"
Story produced by Amol Mhatre. Editor: Ed Givnish.
