Activists fear the vandalism and looting present in the George Floyd protests sabotages a message of social justice. On the other hand, they say, fury over Floyd's death is understandable — and it could be effective in changing public consciousness.
Long noted that the Martin Luther King Jr. saw violence as"a cry of the oppressed" but denounced it in part because he believed, like Mahatma Gandhi, that a peaceful goal requires a peaceful means.
During the early 1960s, Wasow said, civil rights leaders realized peaceful marches would prompt a savage response from police that would be captured by news media. Those"powerful narratives reflected the level of brutality in the Jim Crow South," he said, forcing changes in public opinion, voting and political action.
Early in the Minneapolis demonstrations, Wasow said, law enforcement appeared to overreact when confronted by nonviolent crowds. "It doesn't take a lot of excessive force to turn a peaceful protest into one where anger breaks out," he said. “It’s really frustrating because some of us have faced these guns,’’ he said. “We have seen people killed. Nothing has been done. So we get this constant sense that the tragedy always turns to farce."
The committee joined other civil rights groups Thursday in a letter urging Minneapolis leaders not to use military force against protesters. At the same time, Zelizer said, many instances of law enforcement misconduct would not come to light but for media coverage."You can't have a democracy without journalism," she said."The media need to be there as the eyeballs of the public."National civil rights leaders suspect some outsiders have infiltrated demonstrations to distract from the focus on police brutality.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Attorney General Barr: Peaceful protests over George Floyd 'hijacked' by 'far left extremist groups'Addressing 'rioting' in many cities, Attorney General Bill Barr said, 'the voices of peaceful protest are being hijacked by violent radical elements.'
Read more »
Police, experts condemn knee restraint used on George FloydPolice around the nation and law enforcement experts on Thursday broadly condemned the way George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody this week, was restrained by an officer who dug his knee into the man&39;s neck, saying no circumstances warrant such a dangerous technique. Deeply disturbing
Read more »
Minneapolis police station torched amid George Floyd protestUpdates from protests against the death of George Floyd in police custody: • Protesters torch police station. • CNN crew arrested while reporting. • President Trump draws warning from Twitter for “glorifying violence.” Full coverage:
Read more »
Ex-officer who knelt on George Floyd has been arrested, authorities sayThe arrest comes after three days of protests, which escalated in violence as demonstrators torched a police precinct that had been abandoned by officers.
Read more »
Trump stokes tensions over George Floyd protestsIf President Donald Trump's initial response to the police killing of an unarmed black man in Minnesota surprised some as uncharacteristically measured, his threat of violent police retaliation and military intervention as protests raged thrust him more squarely into a familiar position as racial instigator and defender of law enforcement.
Read more »