The Time Is Now

The world fights for change following the death of george floyd in police custody

Initial outrage over the death of George Floyd – documented on video as Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, restraining Floyd for suspected use of a counterfeit $US20 bill, pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes – has sparked one of the biggest civil rights movements in history. Mass demonstrations for policing reform and racial equality have spread around the globe as part of the powerful movement. People have taken to the streets in destinations as far-flung as Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Nairobi, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Paris, Rome, Madrid as well as here in Australia (see page 12). On June 6, the largest crowd yet packed the newly renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza in front of the White House in Washington DC. In Bristol, England, demonstrators cheered as they toppled a 125-year-old statue of the slave trader, Edward Colston, before dumping it in the harbour. And in Philadelphia, Kerry-Anne and Michael Gordon found themselves in the middle of a demonstration and surrounded by well-wishers as they made their way to get married. “It was the most overwhelming feeling that I had in my heart,” the bride told CNN.