Protests started in The United States have encouraged more around the World

Jason White

Photos taken at the Protest in Phoenix, Az.May 28 2020

Ivana Venema-Nunez, Reporter

Since George Floyd’s death, protests across the United States have ignited world-wide support and solidarity.

Across all 50 states, thousands have been protesting in at least 430 cities and towns according to a USA Today article updated on June 3.

The world has watched an entire weekend of protests in the United States and now are participating in their own countries. 

Despite prohibiting large gatherings in the country as part of its coronavirus response, the United Kingdom had demonstrations at Trafalgar Square in London on Sunday.  Participants knelt in solidarity at 1 p.m. local time, according to Insider.

Black Lives Matter demonstrators gathered on Wednesday in London as well to seek justice for Belly Mujinga, a railway worker who died after being spat on by a man who claimed to have COVID-19.  According to Politico, the Crown Prosecution Service has made it a criminal offense to weaponize COVID-19, but that case was closed last month, Insider states.

In Germany, a graffiti mural in memory of George Floyd was painted on a remnant the Berlin Wall which divided that country’s capital city for decades during the Cold War.

In France, Floyd’s death prompted calls for protest from the advocacy group La Verité Pour Adama — in English “The truth for Adama”.  In 2016, Adama Traore, a 24-year-old black man was tackled and subdued by police officers and gasped “I can’t breathe” before he died, according to a New York Times article published on June 1.

In Paris, campaigners requested permission from authorities to hold protest, but were denied amid coronavirus restrictions there.  France has restrictions on more than 10 people gathering in one place.  French protests continued even while ordered not to.  According to TIME, demonstrators not only took a knee and raised their fists to pay homage to Floyd and Traore, but also lit multiple blazes and torched bicycles and electric scooters — actions that pitted them against riot police, who used tear gas to disperse the crowds.

“Today we are not just talking about the fight of the Traore family. It is the fight for everyone. When we fight for George Floyd, we fight for Adam Traoré. What is happening in the United States is an echo of what is happening in France,” Adama Traoré’s older sister Assa Traoré told the crowd, the Independent reported.

More countries such as Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sudan and South Africa have rallied at their US Embassies to protest for change directly to United States officials.

Australia is expecting protests later this week.