The Killing of George Floyd: International Reactions (UPDATING)
This post gathers international responses to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. While this is obviously a major news story in the United States, it is important to understand that the world is watching is well. The post will be updated regularly to reflect ongoing global reactions to the Floyd case as well as the protests taking place throughout the US.
The Tyranny of Normal
There are scenarios for which neither a placard nor a hashtag is sufficient. From the moment 17-year- old Darnella Frazier’s smartphone lens recorded the nine-minute murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, we – in the US, the UK and beyond – entered such a scenario. In this sense, Darnella’s lens can be seen as a portal through which the world cannot reverse.
The distress and outrage expressed globally since the killing, and the police brutality that (as night follows day) that energy provokes has been harrowing to watch. The reflex to share this material is inescapable, and the technology to propagate and distort it is at our fingertips. We know how to cultivate outrage. Can we now learn to challenge inevitability?
In the glare of breaking news, the spectacular physical and digital reaction to racism and brutality is elevated and can be cathartic to all. But in the days to come, it’s in the tyranny of “normal” where the battle for justice will be faced.
The tyranny of normal for black people on either side of the Atlantic means the sickening, immutable numbness of police murder, assault, economic and social degradation and segregation, tokenised visibility and a jury that’s always rigged.
The tyranny of normal for white people in those two countries, means a profound ignorance of our colonial history that still informs and enforces the present; of never seeing or hearing a black colleague crying in a bathroom cubicle, of never experiencing a criminal justice system that reaches a verdict in the patrol car, and of never feeling that any type of opportunity is deeply conditional.
Can we avoid “Black Out Tuesday” being one isolated day beside a whitewashed 364?
The challenge for all who wish to see an end to racism now lies in the everyday and commonplace. That challenge might mean resisting the powerful algorithms and corporate brand platitudes that seek to appropriate human emotions, and instead to choose to act on what can be seen in plain sight. Our biological lenses can be as important as Darnella Frazier’s digital version.
Thinking, learning, educating, listening, and intervening to the point of personal discomfort are now radical acts to be deployed at home, socially, in the workplace and in the streets.
Showing up, daily, after the spectacular stops trending and the words on placards have changed is the imperative.
Black Lives Matter.
PS: In the spirit of personal recommendations, here’s ours: “13th” by Ava DuVernay.
An open letter from African writers: #BlackLivesMatter
“As African writers without borders who are connected beyond geography with those who live in the United States of America and other parts of the African diaspora, we state that we condemn the acts of violence on Black people in the United States of America. We note in dismay that what Malcolm X said in Ghana in 1964 that “for the twenty million of us in America who are of African descent, it’s not an American dream; it’s an American nightmare” remains true for 37 million in 2020.
“We support the protests in the United States and across the world as our people demand justice for any and all racial killings whether by police or civilians. We are aware that these are not quiet protests. We do not expect it and neither should the United States of America. The killings were not done quietly. The police brutality and state sanctioned murders were done loudly with no fear of consequences from those who perpetrated them.”
Statement from Nairobi, Kenya protesters addressed to US ambassador
“George Floyd was murdered by a police officer empowered by the government you serve, who acted with the knowledge that the system will protect his actions and condemn Floyd.
“This perpetuates the narrative that a black body is a threat and its destruction is not only understood, but expected.
“You are complicit...A police force devoid of the requirement for police reforms, or adherence to the strict implementation of the rule of law.
"A police force funded and supported by the United States. Your silence endorses these tactics.”
The protest #VidasNegrasImportam was organized TODAY, Sunday, by the Rio de Janeiro Favelas Movement, in front of the RJ State Government Palace. It denounced the police violence that continues to kill our communities even in the midst of the #COVID19 pandemic.
📸 IG: thuxthuane pic.twitter.com/V0u7XpFdd0— Kilomba Collective (@KilombaC) June 1, 2020
First professional hat trick 🙏🏼. A bittersweet moment personally as there are more important things going on in the world today that we must address and help make a change. We have to come together as one & fight for justice. We are stronger together! ❤️ #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/ntOtwOySCO
— Jadon Sancho (@Sanchooo10) May 31, 2020
Gathara (cartoonist in Nairobi, Kenya)
#BREAKING Africans were "horrified" by images of police beating protesters and journalists, the statement says. "This cannot be allowed in the 21st century" it adds, concluding with an offer to conduct human rights training for the "notoriously brutal" US police. #AmericanSpring
— gathara (@gathara) May 31, 2020
#BREAKING African leaders also noted that "political instability in the US could destabilize North and Central America" and declared that that must be prevented "at all costs". They urged the former colonial power, the UK, to take the lead in helping secure peace. #AmericanSpring
— gathara (@gathara) May 31, 2020
A post shared by Deaf Twins • Hermon & Heroda © (@being__her) on May 30, 2020 at 5:00pm PDT
“Police violence in East Jerusalem is policy, just like the policy against black people in the U.S. Police violence and the policies of occupation against the Palestinians are a sad routine. It is time to end the occupation, and for justice for all victims of police violence everywhere.”
Marcus Thuram takes the knee after scoring for Gladbach. pic.twitter.com/LixlyU6e1k
— 🇩🇪Ja! Watch the Bundesliga live on BT Sport🇩🇪 (@btsportfootball) May 31, 2020
WATCH: Some pretty big crowds in London marching down Whitehall for #BlackLivesMatterUK protests.
Also a large crowd gathered outside the US embassy. #ICantBreath pic.twitter.com/HI5BQLN0ga— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) May 31, 2020
Thousands now chanting “black lives matter” in front of the US Embassy in Berlin #GeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/Jh65RKhTLo
— Carl Nasman (@CarlNasman) May 30, 2020
Feelings of anger and injustice over George Floyd’s death ripple all the way to Iran. People hold a vigil and light candles in his memory in the city of Mashad. pic.twitter.com/Wpm4qwV6Ab
— Ali Arouzi (@aliarouzi) May 30, 2020
Adeline Bird, Afro-Indigenous community advocate in Winnipeg
"I've been traumatized by images in the past and I'm starting to wonder why we are even showing these images.”
"I am a very black woman and when you see things like this happening to people that look like you — being killed for absolutely nothing, for no reason — that stuff takes up all of your consciousness and your energy."
"I think a lot of people are feeling what black and Indigenous people have been feeling since colonization.”
"It's something that takes up your space; you think about it [and] talk about it all day or you numb yourself. This is the constant emotional war Indigenous and black people live with every single day."
"These experiences are traumatizing and it's important that our black brothers and sisters see themselves and know that they're valued. We hear, we care."
"We are not separated from what's happening in the United States. I hope people realize that. We are all living under the same system."
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg
“Devastating to see the development taking place in the USA. Centuries of structural and systematic racism and social injustice won’t go away by itself. We need a global structural change. The injustices must come to an end. #BlackLivesMatter”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet
“This is the latest in a long line of killings of unarmed African Americans by US police officers and members of the public.
“I am dismayed to have to add George Floyd’s name to that of Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Michael Brown and many other unarmed African Americans who have died over the years at the hands of the police -- as well as people such as Ahmaud Arbery and Trayvon Martin who were killed by armed members of the public.
“The US authorities must take serious action to stop such killings, and to ensure justice is done when they do occur. Procedures must change, prevention systems must be put in place, and above all police officers who resort to excessive use of force should be charged and convicted for the crimes committed.
“I welcome the fact that the Federal authorities have announced that an investigation will be prioritized. But in too many cases in the past, such investigations have led to killings being deemed justified on questionable grounds, or only being addressed by administrative measures.
“The role that entrenched and pervasive racial discrimination plays in such deaths must also be fully examined, properly recognized and dealt with.
“Violence and destruction of property won’t solve the problem of police brutality and enshrined discrimination. I urge protestors to express their demands for justice peacefully, and I urge the police to take utmost care not enflame the current situation even more with any further use of excessive force.”
Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat
“29 May 2020, Addis Ababa: The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat strongly condemns the murder of George Floyd that occurred in the United States of America at the hands of law enforcement officers, and wishes to extend his deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.
“Recalling the historic Organisation of Africa Unity (OAU) Resolution on Racial Discrimination in the United States of America made by African Heads of State and Government, at the OAU’s First Assembly Meeting held in Cairo, Egypt from 17 to 24 July 1964, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission firmly reaffirms and reiterates the African Union’s rejection of the continuing discriminatory practices against Black citizens of the United States of America.
“He further urges the authorities in the United States of America to intensify their efforts to ensure the total elimination of all forms of discrimination based on race or ethnic origin.”
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network:
“Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expresses its firmest support and solidarity to the Black liberation movement, the friends and family of George Floyd and to all of the people taking to the streets in Minneapolis and elsewhere to demand justice, accountability and an end to racist and colonial police terror. The blatant act of police murder, in full view of multiple cameras, indicates a form of confidence and impunity that is not limited to the murderer himself, Derek Chauvin, but reflects the institutional, racist, oppressive structure of U.S. policing. We support the uprising in Minneapolis, the intifada of people subjected to an ongoing, vicious and structural racism, inheriting a lengthy and rich tradition of Black resistance, organizing and struggle.”
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez:
“George Floyd no ‘falleció’. Fue asesinado brutalmente. Lamentablemente es una historia que conocen los afroamericanos Estaba desarmado. Gritaba ‘I can't breath’, pero no fue suficiente para impedir una injusticia. El color de la piel no debería definirnos. #BlackLivesMatter”
[English translation: “George Floyd didn’t ‘die’. He was brutally assassinated. Unfortunately, this is a story that unarmed African Americans know well. He cried ‘I can’t breathe’, but this wasn’t enough prevent an injustice. The color of our skin should not define us. #BlackLivesMatter”]
The Irish Examiner (Editorial)
“The ongoing clashes in Minneapolis over the death on Monday of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed in police custody highlight another issue incomprehensible on this side of the Atlantic.
“Floyd's lethal treatment, captured on a phone, is just the latest in a shameful litany that shows how very racist America can be.
“It is tempting to qualify that charge by saying it applies only to a minority but that is impossible as long as police officers are the main players in this ongoing scandal.”
We can't breathe.
My brown throat,
your black throat.
Both suffocated by
our oppressors’ boot.
The oxygen molecules,
our lifeblood,
choked off from reaching
our hearts and brains.
Oppressors cloaked in the
fake authority of a uniform:
a coward's way to impose
your white rules,
your so-called superior DNA.
We can't breathe.
Even the air is not for free.
Our lungs are too “colored”
for their oxygen.
We can't breathe.
They want us to disappear
for the sake of their fragile egos.
Your so-called justice is exposed
by the democracy of the camera
in the middle of the street.
Our dignity is too strong
to be crushed.
Uzoma Asagwara, Manitoba's NDP health critic and MLA for Union Station
"The stories — that seem nearly daily — of violence against black people who look just like me, and in some ways with lives similar to my life or the lives of those people in my family and my community, is emotionally, mentally and spiritually haunting…I'm devastated, sick and sad."
Cover image via Lorie Shaull / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0). Original at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Floyd_Memorial_2020-05-27.jpg.
