Good morning,
The mayor and police chief of Houston marched alongside tens of thousands of people on Tuesday, at a memorial rally for George Floyd in his Texas hometown. Across the US, peaceful protesters defied the curfews and a sometimes forceful police response to turn out for an eighth day of demonstrations over Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.
In some cities, police have been filmed marching or kneeling with the protesters. On the Today in Focus podcast, former federal prosecutor Paul Butler discusses whether this wave of protest will lead to the policing reforms he believes are needed.
Yet the unrest has also led to deadly violence, with many of those killed being African American. In the US, writes Derrick Johnson, the expendability of black lives is just part of the system:
Across the country, large numbers of people from all walks of life have joined peaceful protests against racist police violence, offering welcomed solidarity in recognition of the searing frustration and anger of Black people who have seen too many friends and family die senselessly.
Minneapolis schools ended their contract with the city’s police, whose officers had provided school security. “We cannot continue to be in partnership with an organization that has the culture of violence and racism that the Minneapolis police department has historically demonstrated,” said a school board member.
How Trump ‘turned holy ground into a battleground’
The controversy over Donald Trump’s short walk to a Washington DC church on Monday continues, after it emerged that clergy linked to St John’s – known as the “church of the presidents” – were among the peaceful protesters dispersed by police with teargas and rubber bullets to clear Trump’s path from the White House. “They turned holy ground into a battleground,” said the Rev Gini Gerbasi.
Yet some among the president’s evangelical base saw the photo op – which was reportedly planned on the hoof, in response to negative media coverage – as “the coolest thing he could do”. With troops on the streets in the midst of a pandemic, the “normalised mayhem” of the Trump era has left the nation constantly off-balance, writes Julian Borger:
One reason it is so hard to keep track of the descent is the near instant normalisation of every bizarre new turn, administered like a fast-acting anaesthetic. Trump is surrounded by more coherent people insisting nothing out of the ordinary is happening.
Joe Biden promised not to ‘fan the flames of hate’
Joe Biden’s first major public address since the coronavirus lockdown left him campaigning from his Delaware basement was sombre, not stirring. But it offered a glimpse of something that may seem abnormal to Americans amid the current chaos: a normal presidency. Speaking at city hall in Philadelphia on Tuesday, the presumptive Democratic nominee described Floyd’s death as “a wake-up call to our nation” and said Trump “is part of the problem, and accelerates it”.
I promise you this. I won’t traffic in fear and division. I won’t fan the flames of hate. I will seek to heal the racial wounds that have long plagued this country – not use them for political gain.
A lesson in conservation, from the coronavirus
The celebrated primatologist Jane Goodall has warned that humanity will be “finished” if we fail to learn the lessons of the coronavirus and the climate crisis, and do not make drastic alterations to our food systems. Speaking at an online event organised by the campaigning group Compassion in World Farming, Goodall blamed the pandemic – thought to have originated at a “wet market” in Wuhan – on the over-exploitation of the natural world.
China’s air pollution is back to pre-Covid levels, with scientists saying Europe is likely to follow suit as lockdowns begin to lift.
A Wuhan doctor has died after four months fighting the virus. The death of 42-year-old Hu Weifeng, the sixth doctor to succumb to the disease from the city’s so-called “whistleblower hospital”, sparked fresh anger at the authorities in China for their failure to protect frontline medics during the outbreak.
In other news…
Steve King lost his re-election bid in Iowa. The nine-term conservative congressman, known for his racist rhetoric and ties to white nationalists, was defeated in the state’s Republican primary by state senator Randy Feenstra.
At least 100,000 people have been evacuated in India – including some of the country’s growing number of coronavirus patients – as the city of Mumbai braces for its first cyclone in more than 70 years.
Mark Zuckerberg chose not to remove an incendiary Trump post following a “pretty thorough” decision-making process, the Facebook CEO told staff in a video conference on Tuesday, despite widespread criticism from within the company.
Renewable sources surpassed coal in energy generation in the US in 2019 – for the first time since coal surpassed wood as the nation’s favourite energy source, in the 19th century.
Great reads
The inside story of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign
After Hillary Clinton’s defeat in 2016, her campaign was unsure what to do with more than 2,000 hours of behind-the-scenes footage. Filmmaker Nanette Burstein had the answer: Hillary, a four-part documentary that unspools Clinton’s biography – and turns it into a story of hope, writes Xan Brooks.
The anti-racist reading list
When this news cycle is over, the social justice memes are no longer posted, and declarations for inclusivity and diversity have died down, how should we continue the struggle against white supremacy? Layla F Saad compiles a reading list for those prepared to “do the work”.
Opinion: #BlackOutTuesday was an embarrassment
At a moment of shocking state violence, posting a black square on Instagram was not only a facile attempt at armchair activism, says Fatima Bhutto, it also actively disrupted efforts to spread information about police violence against protesters.
No matter the occasion, social media can always be relied upon to gaze deep into its collective navel. Whereas 24 hours earlier, users had been posting legal information, names of pro bono lawyers and bail funds, filming videos of wanton cruelty and abuses of power, now they were shtum, save for the sanctimonious black squares.
Last Thing: Here be (baby) dragons
On Wednesday, Slovenia’s vast Postojna cave system will re-open to the public after the coronavirus lockdown, and with it the world’s first display of “baby dragons”: olms, mysterious underground amphibians that retain juvenile characteristics for the entirety of their 100-year lifespans.
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