Right when it seems like the world is calming down amidst the virus, another matter was brought up, which is the injustice against George Floyd due to police brutality. Even though it has been a tough time for everyone, there have still been some positive sides to the riots, as all fifty states of America and other countries in Europe and Asia have united against racism and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Black Lives Matter movement started off rough with people showing anger as looting became something that expressed this anger, similar to the LA riots in 1992. Sooner or later, it was shown how there are more peaceful riots as people marched, trying not to make the movement into a violent movement. This touched the hearts of many people from all over America as it became a serious matter, with a picture showing all fifty states of America supporting the movement (News18). Also, it was brought to people’s attention that Kpop fans have also been helping the movement by taking over racist hashtags. Kpop fans are one of the strongest forces on social media, as they used their power to flood racist hashtags like #whitelivesmatter and #alllivesmatter with fancams of their idol or memes (CNN). With the majority of Americans supporting the movement, the movement also spread to other countries too.

It is said that eighteen other countries also support the movement, including the UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, and more. In the UK, there was a report that hundreds of people kneeled at Trafalgar Square in London. The Black Lives Matter demonstrators also gathered at Hyde Park and marched through London to Victoria Station, where they held up signs of Belly Mujinga, a black railway worker, who was spat on by a man who had COVID-19. She passed away from the virus (Marieclaire). The protests were peaceful with reports of police assault, but overall, they were fairly calm (Insider). France was also speaking out against police brutality as they too carried signs of a man named Adama Traore. He was a black man who was killed by the police similar to  George Floyd, as he too in his last moments struggled to breathe (CNN). His death was brought up in France as the people marched to speak out against police brutality and racism. The city of Paris, however, did not have a peaceful protest, as there were reports of arson, violence, and use of tear gas within the city (Insider).

Despite the hard times everyone is going through, it is good to see people uniting for the same reason. Sophie Zhang (10) said, “I think it is amazing how people from all over the world are uniting together to build a bigger movement and a bigger impact. I believe that everyone should respect each other despite ethnicity.” Although it is amazing to see people standing together against police brutality, people should still keep in mind to be careful and stay safe. Let’s hope that through this movement, positive change can be made throughout the world.