Five years ago, on 25 May 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer. During an attempted arrest, Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, cutting off his oxygen supply. The gruesome killing was captured on video.
Floyd’s murder sparked global outcry, launching the largest protests seen in the US since the civil rights movement. During the summer of 2020, upwards of 26 million people protested nationwide to condemn police brutality and demand racial justice. Rallies also spread across the globe, with some 93 countries and territories participating in the uprisings.
Demonstrations were largely peaceful, despite some rightwing media coverage claiming otherwise. Between 25 May and 4 June 2020, 89% of protests were non-destructive, with 96% remaining non-violent through September 2020, according to figures from the Pew Research Center.
