2020 George Floyd protests

The George Floyd protests and riots were a nationwide campaign of public demonstrations accompanied by scores of riots triggered by the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis, Minnesota who lost consciousness while pinned under the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020.

Floyd had been handcuffed on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a take-out restaurant, but did not cooperate with being forced into the back of a police car. Chauvin arrived as back-up to the arresting officers. He pulled Floyd back out of the car and pinned him face down with his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, during which time he lost consciousness. The incident was recorded by onlookers and police body cameras. Floyd was taken from the scene by ambulance and pronounced dead at the Hennepin County Medical Center. On May 29 the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension charged Chauvin with 3rd degree murder and 2nd degree manslaughter in connection with Floyd's death.

Video of Chauvin's use of force was widely shared on social media and mass media. Floyd's death resounded as the latest in a long line of black men killed by police in the United States. That toll had already spawned large nationwide protest actions, many under the banner of Black Lives Matter, a social media hashtag that became a movement following the murder of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida in 2013.

Birmingham

Peaceful protests were organized in Birmingham on May 30 and May 31, including one rally with speeches by Mayor Randall Woodfin and U.S. Senator Doug Jones.

Later on the evening of May 31, a large group of protesters assembled at Linn Park where some began to vandalize public monuments in the park. Most of the attention was given to the 30-foot tall Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Memorial, but efforts to pull it over failed. The Charles Linn statue was toppled and the bases of the Spanish American War Memorial and World War I Memorial were defaced and some windows at the Jefferson County Courthouse were broken.

Mayor Randall Woodfin addressed the crowd engaged in vandalizing the Confederate memorial that if they would give him 24 hours, he would finish the job they started. Police cleared the park shortly after 10:00 PM, but vandalism continued as groups moved through downtown streets breaking windows. Significant damage was reported at the Alabama Power building, and the California Fashion Mall. Windows were broken at Zoe's Kitchen, Lyric Theatre, Alabama Theatre, Shu Shop, Miami Fusion Cafe, Charm and many other businesses. Fourteen businesses reported burglaries and five fires were reported.

The city enforced an emergency curfew to begin at 7:00 PM the following night to help prevent further criminal destruction. Woodfin stated that, "I 100% support civil disobedience, but that is very different from civil unrest."

Hoover

A protest outside the Hoover Municipal Complex resulted in several arrests.

References

• Mervosh, Sarah & Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs (May 29, 2020) "Why Derek Chauvin Was Charged With Third-Degree Murder." The New York Times
• Beahm, Anna (May 31, 2020) "In Birmingham: Fires, windows shattered at banks, businesses as reporters attacked." The Birmingham News
• Whitmire, Kyle (June 1, 2020) "When a Confederate monument wouldn’t fall, rioters turned on Birmingham." The Birmingham News
• "Woodfin declares curfew after night of unrest in Birmingham." (June 1, 2020) Birmingham Business Journal