The “Strike for Black Lives” saw employees from a broad range of industries briefly walk off their jobs in a call to end “systemic racism.”
Demonstrators pose for group photos during a picket and rally event outside the office of King County Executive Dow Constantine as part of the nationwide Strike For Black Lives on July 20, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo: AFP)
Thousands of US workers walked out of their jobs across the country on Monday for a strike in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and other minority groups which suffer racism.
The “Strike for Black Lives” saw employees from a broad range of industries briefly walk off their jobs in a call to end “systemic racism.”
Tens of thousands of people in more than 200 cities across the country participated in the strike, according to the US media.
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In New York, some 100 people marched outside the Trump International Hotel to demand the adoption of the HEROES Act, legislation that would provide financial aid to households struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
The bill was passed in May by the Democrat-majority House of Representatives but has since been blocked by the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans.
African Americans and Hispanics died in disproportionately high numbers in New York City’s coronavirus pandemic that killed more than 22,000 residents.
The next protest is set for Tuesday, and Lee and McLean plan on taking no chances that there will be a repeat. Police and city officials have been coordinating to provide a larger response and reaching out to organizers to try to ensure a peaceful demonstration.
No arrests have been made after the assaults at the last protest, according to Williams. Some reports have been sent to prosecutors and other incidents are still under investigation, she said.
In May, the Black Lives Matter protests over had taken place across different parts of the UK in solidarity with similar protests in the US and around the world against the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man who was a victim of police brutality.
The United States was gripped earlier with nationwide protests against racial discrimination and police brutality against African American man.The protests came at a time when the country is also facing a pandemic with highest cases of infections and fatalities in the world.
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