People Are Walking Around Philadelphia With a Basketball Hoop Asking Others to Play to 'Break the Tension' | 22 Words

Philadelphia has been one of the main spots for protests over the last week. And yesterday, a group of people were spotted walking around the city center with a basketball hoop to help break the tension, with the pictures and videos quickly going viral...

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

Last week, on Monday, May 25th, an innocent and 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.

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 be done 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.

Everyone is talking about it.

Yesterday, the hashtag #BlackOutTuesday started trending, with people from all over the world posting a blank black picture to demonstrate their solidarity with the movement.

And, of course, an array of celebrities have been jumping on board to show their support.

So many famous faces, such as Madonna, Barack Obama, and Ice Cube, have been speaking out against racism and injustice in, not only this country, but the rest of the world.

These famous figures have been using their platform to highlight the ongoing issues black men and women face every day...

And they have been urging their followers to educate themselves, donate to useful causes, and to strive towards a racism-free future.

Social media is playing a huge part in educating people and shedding light on a movement that people should have been talking about long before.

And, as scenes from protests across the states are posted online, a group of people have gone viral for walking around with a basketball hoop.

The aim?

To help "break the tension."

The group was spotted by reporter, Nina Feldman, in Philadelphia.

Nina posted the images on Twitter, the first of which showed Khalil Gardner posing alongside the hoop.

The group managed to convince a police officer to play with them.

All while some people yelled for him to stop.

According to Nina, Stephania Ergemlidze is the mastermind behind the basketball project.

Stephania, who is a Youtuber, posted to her Instagram updating fans where she and her group would be with their hoop.

Sports truly do have a way of uniting people.

And it's great that she has put this project into action.

Of course, throwing some basketballs isn't going to solve everything.

But, it's another one of those small victories that show us that we can be united.

Many praised the project...

"This is amazing. Hopefully this catches on. Always loved hoopin it with random guys and building relationships," wrote one user.  Let's hope this project continues! But, sadly, not everyone has been using their platform for good. Keep scrolling to read about the influencer who posed in blackface to support Black Lives Matter…