Anti-Racism Protests Held Coast To Coast Across U.S.

Protests against systemic racism and police brutality continued across the nation on Friday, the 18th day since George Floyd , a Black man, was killed when a white Minneapolis cop knelt on his neck. 

In demonstrations in Miami;  Nashville;  Columbus, Ohio;  St. Paul , Minnesota; and beyond, people held signs reading “Black lives matter ” and “Silence is violence .” 

“No more seeing injustice and nothing said ,” one activist said at a protest in Oakland, California. “No more systemic oppression. No more young brothers and sisters dead — no more saying, ‘That’s just how it is.’”  

The protests, which started in Minneapolis on May 26, the day after Floyd was killed, quickly spread across the country and the world. Largely led by young Black people and drawing often massive , racially diverse crowds, the protests have already led to significant changes in policy and public opinion. Several cities have committed to redirecting funding away from police departments to social programs, for instance, and a slew of monuments to racist leaders have been toppled . 

Here are photos from a few of the protests across the country on Friday: 

Phoenix

Oakland, California 

Washington 

Chicago

New York City

Syracuse, New York

Columbus, Ohio

Nashville

El Paso, Texas 

Seattle