Global Protests:
#BlackLivesMatter / Anti–Police Violence

Nearly four years ago, Outlas published a catalog of media coverage focused on global protests connected to the burgeoning #BlackLivesMatter movement. Today, the murder of Black American George Floyd by the police has re-galvanized demonstrations across the world’s continents, promoting diverse forms of solidarity across movements focused on affirming Black lives, eliminating racism, and ending police violence.

Floyd’s death is one among many that have pushed people into the streets of cities from Honolulu to East Jerusalem, drawing together accounts of the criminalization of people of color and other minority groups around the world. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, protesters around the world have gathered to interconnect their causes, demonstrating the resilience of a global anti-racism and anti–police brutality movement despite the lull in media coverage in recent years. This collection has gathered more than 150 articles, statements, and multimedia stories documenting the recent surge in protests and their interconnection.

Key Global Cases
Global/Interregional
U.S.
Canada
Latin America and the Caribbean
Europe
Africa and the Middle East
Asia and the Pacific

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Key Global Cases

• George Floyd (U.S.)
• Adama Traoré (France)
• Barış Çakan (Turkey)
• Breonna Taylor (U.S.)
• Chantel Moore (Canada)
• Collins Khosa (South Africa)
• David Dungay (Australia)
• Giovanni López (Mexico)
• Iyad Halak (Palestinian Territories)
• João Pedro (Brazil)
• Joyce Clarke (Australia)
• Regis Korchinski-Paquet (Canada)
• Sheku Bayou (U.K.)
• Tina Ezekwe (Nigeria)

Global/Interregional

A number of media outlets have mapped the development of demonstrations around the world and compiled media and accounts from protests, summarizing the connections between the diverse sites and expressions of solidarity journalists have uncovered.

• Mapping anti-racism solidarity protests around the world (Al Jazeera | June 2020)
• “Protests over George Floyd’s death expose raw race relations worldwide” (Reuters | June 2020)
• “Ghost, angel, martyr: the brutal brilliance of George Floyd murals from Syria to Belfast” (The Guardian | June 2020)
• “‘Abuse of power’: global outrage grows after death of George Floyd” (The Guardian | June 2020)
• “Global Anger Grows Over George Floyd Death, and Becomes an Anti-Trump Cudgel” (The New York Times | June 2020)
• “America’s rivals return fire on human rights after U.S. protests” (Reuters | June 2020)
• “George Floyd protests go global” (Vox | May 2020)
• “Protesters gather worldwide to show solidarity with George Floyd” (France 24 | May 2020)
• “George Floyd Reverberates Globally: Thousands Protest In Germany, U.K., New Zealand” (NPR | May 2020)

U.S.

The U.S. has experienced more than a week of protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. His death was the latest in a series of events that had drawn attention to ongoing violence and threats of violence faced by Black people in public space across the U.S., from racist vigilantism in Georgia to a dead-of-night police break-in and murder in New York. Protesters across all 50 states mobilized to contest police violence, prompting spectacular forms of police repression—including tear-gassing, beatings, tasing, and shootings—captured on video and circulated across social media platforms.

• America Reckons with Racial Injustice (NPR)
• George Floyd Protests (The New York Times)
• George Floyd protests (The Washington Post)
• George Floyd protests across the U.S. (CNN)
• George Floyd protest updates (ABC News U.S.)
• George Floyd portal (NBC News)
• George Floyd Protests (CBS News)
• “Washington emblazons defiant ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign near White House” (Reuters | June 2020)
• “Weekend George Floyd Protests Planned Seeking Reforms” (The Wall Street Journal | June 2020)
• “Black pain is ours: Minneapolis Somali community rallies over Floyd killing” (Middle East Eye | June 2020)
• “‘Not just a black and white issue:’ Montana tribal members react to death of George Floyd” (Great Falls Tribune | June 2020)
• “Palestinian Americans draw stark comparisons of US and Israeli uses of force” (Middle East Eye | May 2020)

Local Protests

• Minneapolis, MN (NBC News, New York Times)
• Atlanta, GA (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, FOX Atlanta, CBS Atlanta, New York Times)
• Austin, TX (KVUE, KUT, Texas Observer, BuzzFeed News)
• Boston, MA (WBUR, NBC Boston, Boston.com)
• Buffalo, NY (NPR)
• Chicago, IL (Chicago Tribune, NBC Chicago, Chicago Sun-Times)
• Dallas–Fort Worth, TX (WFAA, NBC Dallas, Dallas Morning News)
• Honolulu, HI (Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Hawaii News Now)
• Houston, TX (KPRC, KHOU, Houston Public Media)
• Los Angeles, CA (NBC4, CBS Los Angeles)
• Miami, FL (Miami Herald)
• Philadelphia, PA (Philadelphia Inquirer, WHYY, ABC6)
• Loíza, Puerto Rico (Remezcla)
• New York, NY (New York Times, CBS2, NBC4, CBS2)
• San Francisco, CA (San Francisco Chronicle, CBS San Francisco, SFGate)
• Seattle, WA (KING5)
• Washington, DC (NBC5, Business Insider, NPR, WTOP, Washington Post)

Canada

Canada has experienced its own widespread condemnation of police violence in the U.S., organizing massive demonstrations from Vancouver to Halifax in honor of the memory of George Floyd. Participants have also drawn attention to recent fatal incidents involving police—including the recent death of Afro-Indigenous woman Regis Korchinski-Paquet—and the disproportionate effects of police violence experienced by Black and Indigenous Canadians and other Canadians of color.

• “Over 1,000 people gather for Black Lives Matter protest in Lethbridge” (Global News | June 2020)
• “‘Listen and understand’ says organizer of Guelph’s Black Lives Matter protest” (Global News | June 2020)
• “Montreal protesters aim to drive home message racism is a problem here too” (CBC News | June 2020)
• “Thousands take a knee in downtown Halifax in support of anti-racism” (The Chronicle Herald | June 2020)
• “African Nova Scotians react to U.S. demonstrations against racially-based violence” (Global News | June 2020)
• “Black Lives Matter rally held in New Glasgow” (The Chronicle Herald | June 2020)
• “Large Black Lives Matter protests in Calgary” (Global News | June 2020)
• “Trudeau says anti-black racism is alive in Canada and ‘we need to be better’” (CBC News | June 2020)
• “From police shootings to protests over anti-Black racism: Toronto’s last three decades of racial controversy” (The Toronto Star | June 2020)
• “Thousands rally in Toronto after death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet” (Global News | May 2020)
• “Visible minorities say we told you so, after report finds systemic bias by Montreal police” (CBC News | October 2019)

Latin America and the Caribbean

Afro-Latinx, Afro-Caribbean, and allied Latin American communities have also expressed solidarity with Black Americans, highlighting both the ongoing forms of marginalization experienced by Afro-descendant people in Central American countries and the complex relationships to racism across the Caribbean. Brazil, in particular, has been grappling with an entrenched police brutality problem that overwhelmingly threatens Afro-Brazilians—particularly those living in poor communities. The recent killing of 14-year-old João Pedro has reignited protests, with demonstrators drawing explicit connections to anti-Black police violence in the U.S.

Transnational

• “For black and indigenous people in Central America, Black Lives Matter” (Global Voices | June 2020)
• “‘Born fi dead’: The Caribbean looks at the George Floyd protests and sees itself” (Global Voices | June 2020)

Brazil

• “Black lives shattered: outrage as boy, 14, is Brazil police’s latest victim” (The Guardian | June 2020)
• “Demonstrators in Brazil Protest Against Crimes Committed by Police” (Voice of America News | June 2020)
• “Police disperse anti-Bolsonaro protesters in Brazil” (The Associated Press via ABC News U.S. | May 2020)

Mexico

• “Death of man after face mask arrest shines light on Mexican police brutality” (The Guardian | June 2020)
• “Candlelight vigil held for George Floyd in Mexico City” (NBC via Yahoo! News | June 2020)

Europe

Massive protests across Europe have centered not only the injustice of George Floyd’s death, but also ongoing forms of racism across the continent. In France, George’s death scratched at the wound of the 2016 murder of Adama Traoré in a suburb of Paris. In the UK, protest participants were quick to shut down any attempt to distance the UK from U.S.-style racism, highlighting ongoing discrimination experienced by Black communities in the country. Whether in the commemoration of colonial leaders responsible for the death of millions of Africans or stubborn denials of institutional racism, contemporary manifestations of racism drew the ire of demonstrators of all backgrounds.

Transnational

• “Europe must step up anti-racism efforts, rights agency says” (Deutsche Welle | June 2020)
• “Thousands march in Europe in solidarity with U.S. protesters” (CBS News | May 2020)

Belgium

• “Brussels approves ‘static’ Black Lives Matter protest” (The Brussels Times | June 2020)
• “Belgian petition to remove statues of colonial king gathers pace amid George Floyd protests” (euronews | June 2020)
• “‘I can’t breathe’: Leopold II statue defaced in Ghent” (The Brussels Times | June 2020)

France

• “‘No Justice In France, Either’: French Protest Police Killings In U.S. And At Home” (NPR | June 2020)
• “A Paris, manifestation massive en mémoire d’Adama Traoré et George Floyd” (Libération | June 2020)
• “20,000 protest police violence in France” (The Connexion | June 2020)
• “France not racist state, Macron spokesperson says after Paris protest” (The Guardian | June 2020)

Germany

• “Thousands in Germany Protest in Support of Black Lives Matter, Call for U.S. to End Human Rights Violations” (Newsweek | June 2020)
• “Germany struggles to face its own police racism“ (Deutsche Welle | June 2020)
• “Anti-racism protests spread to Berlin and London” (Deutsche Welle | May 2020)
• “Young players call for ‘Justice for George Floyd’ in Germany” (The Associated Press | May 2020)

Italy

• “George Floyd death: Italian footballers take knee” (Wanted in Rome | June 2020)
• “Italy reacts to death of George Floyd” (Wanted in Milan | May 2020)

The Netherlands

• “Thousands demonstrate against police violence in Amsterdam” (Dutch News | June 2020)
• “Roughly 5,000 Join Black Lives Matter Protest on Dam Square; ‘We Have Work to Do’” (The NL Times | June 2020)

Spain

• WATCH: Black Lives Matter Movement Reaches Streets of Spain’s Zaragoza as Protesters Demand an End Racial and Police Abuse (Euro Weekly News | June 2020)

U.K.

• “‘No justice, no peace’: Tens of thousands in London protest death of Floyd” (Reuters | June 2020)
• “‘The UK is just as bad as America’” (CNN | June 2020)
• “Thousands take to London streets to protest racism, George Floyd death” (NBC News | June 2020)
• “George Floyd death: Why US protests resonate in the UK” (BBC News | June 2020)
• “Hundreds take to the streets of Manchester to protest over the death of George Floyd in the US” (The Manchester Evening News | May 2020)

Africa and the Middle East

Solidarity with protesters in the U.S. found diverse expression across Africa and the Middle East, from a mural in the rubble of an obliterated Syrian building to an open letter signed by dozens of African writers demanding accountability and pressuring African governments to do more. African political leaders, for their part, took the rare step of condemning the situation in the U.S.. But activists across the region also worked to draw attention to local police brutality problems as well, including the killing of autistic Palestinian Iyad Halak by Israeli border security and high levels of violence against women (both by police and by others not held to account by police) in Nigeria.

Transnational

• “#BLM: US cycle of racist violence resonates in Africa” (Deutsche Welle | June 2020)
• “Open letter: African writers in solidarity with African Americans” (Al Jazeera | June 2020)
• “Middle East expresses support for George Floyd protests in US” (Al-Monitor | June 2020)
• “George Floyd’s killing touches a nerve with Africans who know police brutality at home and abroad” (Quartz | June 2020)
• “Floyd’s Death in U.S. Spurs Protests and Outrage Across Africa” (Bloomberg News | June 2020)
• “In Rare Move, U.S. Embassies in Africa Condemn George Floyd Murder” (TIME | May 2020)
• Statement of the Chairperson following the murder of George Floyd in the USA (African Union)

The Gambia

• Gambia: Ministry of Foreign Affairs—The Gambia – Press Statement (Government of the Gambia via AllAfrica.com | June 2020)

Israel and the Palestinian Territories

• “Protesting Floyd killing, Israelis fume over police violence in US and at home” (The Times of Israel | June 2020)
• “Hundreds March in Israel, West Bank for Palestinian, Black American Police Brutality Victims” (Haaretz | June 2020)
• “Israeli police killing of autistic Palestinian man draws George Floyd parallel” (The Associated Press via The Los Angeles Times | June 2020)

Kenya

• “Protesters rally outside US embassy in Nairobi over George Floyd’s death” (The Daily Nation | June 2020)
• “Kenyans protest as police accused of killing homeless man” (The Associated Press via ABC News U.S. | June 2020)

Nigeria

• “Nigerians go online to demand ‘justice’ for abuses against women” (Al Jazeera | June 2020)
• “#WeAreTired: Nigerian women speak out over wave of violence” (BBC News | June 2020)
• “Nigerians Are Turning to Social Media to Condemn Widespread Sexual Violence, Inequality, and Police Brutality” (Global Citizen | June 2020)

South Africa

• “Collins Khosa and George Floyd: #NotInMyName protests against law enforcement brutality” (News24 | June 2020)

Turkey

• “Killing of Kurdish man in Turkish capital provokes outrage” (Middle East Eye | June 2020)
• “Turkey: officers disperse anti-police brutality protest” (The Associated Press | June 2020)
• “Istanbul authorities beat, detain over 25 anti-police violence protestors” (Ahval | June 2020)
• “Turkey ignores its own record, denouncing press clampdown in US protests” (Al-Monitor | June 2020)

Asia and the Pacific

In the Asia-Pacific region, a range of responses to unrest in the U.S. has emerged. In a tit-for-tat with the U.S. government, Chinese officials have used the situation to draw attention to human rights violations in the U.S. as the U.S. has condemned China for its crackdown on protesters in Hong Kong. Elsewhere, police brutality has been a longstanding issue with respect to the treatment of indigenous communities. Thousands of protesters across Australia and New Zealand expressed solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement while also integrating the long history of anti-Indigenous violence into their calls for change. Similarly, the outbreak of protests in U.S. and the resurgence of global anti-racism consciousness provided an opportunity for activists and members of the Papuan diaspora to highlight the ongoing discrimination and violence experienced by indigenous Papuans at the hands of the Indonesian government.

Australia

• #AboriginalLivesMatter (Twitter)
• “‘We know the pain’: Australia confronts police racism toward first inhabitants” (The Washington Post | June 2020)
• “NSW Supreme Court bans Sydney Black Lives Matter protest” (ABC News Australia | June 2020)
• “Hundreds march in Sydney to protest against Indigenous deaths and George Floyd killing” (The Guardian | June 2020)
• “‘Deaths in our backyard’: 432 Indigenous Australians have died in custody since 1991” (The Guardian | June 2020)
• Deaths Inside (The Guardian)

China

• “George Floyd death: why Hongkongers are divided over lessons from American unrest” (The South China Morning Post | June 2020)
• “George Floyd death: China takes a victory lap over US protests” (BBC News | June 2020)

India

• “Activist Aakar Patel faces FIR for allegedly urging Indians to emulate US protests” (Scroll.in | June 2020)
• “Black lives matter – as do the lives of members of all of India’s marginalised communities” (Scroll.in, commentary | June 2020)

Indonesia

• #PapuanLivesMatter (Twitter)
• “‘#PapuanLivesMatter’: George Floyd’s death hits close to home in Indonesia” (The Jakarta Post | June 2020)
• “Anti-racism protests in the US are shining the light on racism against Papuans in Indonesia” (Coconuts | June 2020)
• “Black Lives Matter rallies Papuan activists in Indonesia” (Reuters | June 2020)

Japan

• “As George Floyd marches loom, do’s and don’ts for protesting in Japan” (The Japan Times | June 2020)
• “Hundreds protest alleged Tokyo police violence against Kurdish man” (The Tokyo Reporter | May 2020)

New Zealand

• “New Zealand protests live” (The New Zealand Herald | June 2020)
• “‘That same white supremacy exists in NZ’: Auckland George Floyd protest organisers urge Kiwis to march with them” (Newshub | June 2020)
• “Thousands in New Zealand protest against George Floyd killing” (The Guardian | June 2020)
• “Crowds Protest in New Zealand Against George Floyd’s Death and Police Brutality Against Indigenous Communities” (TIME | June 2020)
• “Police use of force report: Taser used on three 15-year-olds in 2018, Māori disproportionately affected” (The New Zealand Herald | November 2019)
• Arms Down NZ