Black Lives Matter Protesters Tear Down Statue of Slave Trader | 22 Words

As protests continue on a global scale following the death of George Floyd almost two weeks ago, many people have been showing their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Now protesters have gone viral after tearing down a statue of a slave trader.

Keep scrolling to see what went down...

Across the States, hundreds of emotional pictures have emerged of those participating in the protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd. 

With thousands showing their support.

The Black Lives Matter movement has never before been so prominent.

Last week, on Monday, May 25th, a defenseless black man was killed while in a police restraint.

George Floyd was arrested and forced to the ground...

Where former police officer, Derek Chauvin, proceeded to kneel on his neck, while 3 other officers knelt on his back.

Footage of George's "arrest" quickly circulated on social media...

And, in the highly distressing scenes, he could be heard begging with the officers to release him and repeatedly saying "Please, please... I can't breathe."

After nearly ten minutes, George was completely unresponsive.

An ambulance arrived and took the unconscious man to hospital but, devastatingly, he was pronounced dead upon arrival. He was only forty-six years old.

4 days after George's death, some justice was served.

Derek Chauvin, the man who had knelt on George’s neck, was finally arrested. But this wasn't enough...

Chauvin was originally taken into custody and was charged with murder in the third degree and manslaughter.

His bond was set at $50,000, and he is due to appear in court on June 8th.

This kind of police brutality has been happening for centuries now...

But George's death has sparked an outrage like never before.

Thousands upon thousands of people have been taking to the streets in protest...

And they are all marching for one thing: For the blatant racism and injustice in this country to be brought to an end.

But things have been quick to turn violent.

Protesters became interweaved with rioters and, as they continue to clash with police, the scenes unfolding across our country have been becoming steadily more violent.

It's a truly terrifying time.

But change needs to happen and, at the moment, this seems like the only way to make it happen.

But, remarkably, they seem to be working.

Thanks to these riots, the Black Lives Matter movement is dominating global headlines, and it has completely taken over social media.

And of course, the news broke yesterday that Chauvin is now facing an upgraded charge...

He is now being charged with second-degree murder according to Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

As for the other officers?

Let’s not forget that, while Chauvin is the man primarily responsible for George’s death, 3 other police officers – Thomas Lane, J.A. Kueng, and Tou Thao – also played a significant role in the incident.

Chauvin may have been the one to kneel on his neck...

But alternative footage from the incident shows that 2 other officers were actually kneeling on his back, while a 4th stood on and watched. As reported by the New York Times, it was announced yesterday that Thomas Lane, J.A. Kueng, and Tou Thao have all been formally charged with aiding and abetting murder in the death of George Floyd.

This is only the beginning.

And it's so important that we continue to speak out and use our voices.

One city really decided to use its voice.

In a way that is very visible.

On Friday morning, a group of people were seen painting large yellow letters down two blocks of 16th Street in D.C.

A two-lane road that coincidentally leads to the White House.

The letters along the road spelled out "Black Lives Matter".

And those who were painting the letters were reportedly commissioned by D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Emily Badger, a New York Times writer who spotted the letters, said in a tweet that the letters would "be a real middle finger to any federal forces flying overhead."

She also added that it doesn't seem to be temporary support as the paint being used looked like that is used to stripe road lanes.

But the protests aren't only in the U.S.

The Black Lives Matter movement is a global cause working for global change - and protests have been taking place all over the world.

The UK has had a lot of protests in the past few days.

In all of the nations major cities such as London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and Bristol.

Things in Bristol got very heated.

And a video is going viral of protesters tearing down a statue of 17th Century slave trader Edward Colston.

People then jumped on the statue.

When it was finally tore down, protesters jumped on the statue and slapped it. One protester could even be seen kneeling on the neck of Colston.

Check out the video below:

The statue has stood in Bristol since the 1800's but there have been many petitions to have it removed. I guess there's no need for that anymore...