Over the last week, Americans across the country have taken to the streets to protest the wrongful killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died when a white police officer held Floyd down by the back of the neck with his knee for almost nine minutes. Although a majority of protesters have been peaceful, Antifa has decided to use the opportunity to create chaos and destruction. They have been caught repeatedly breaking windows, tagging buildings and setting fires.
Despite all that, protestors from the West Coast to the East Coast have decided to offer positivity when things looked grim.
Protestors in Newark, New Jersey, and Riverside, California, danced to the "Cupid Shuffle."
Put this on the news. pic.twitter.com/YfXB2x6bcz
— Frosty (@FrostyTheSkid) May 30, 2020
Lots of light moments like this one in Riverside, even as curfew passes and the circle of sheriffs deputies keeps getting tighter around the remaining protesters. pic.twitter.com/oUWavHEaoP
— Paloma Esquivel (@palomaesquivel) June 2, 2020
Protestors in Canton, Ohio, joined together to sing "Lean on Me."
Peaceful protests in Canton, Ohio breaks into song. What a beautiful thing this is to see. #unity pic.twitter.com/9T8KUmHl8a
— ?????????? (@Jake_Friel) May 30, 2020
There are other aspects of the protest that aren't getting very much coverage, like sheriffs and police officers coming together with Black Lives Matter protestors to find common ground.
"We cannot let violence, we cannot let looting and a few bad actors divide us an American people. The American spirit is defined by love and mutual acceptance and kindness and despite the horrific scenes we've seen play throughout the media, there are some things we haven't seen and I think it's important for the American people to see them," Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Monday. "Across the country, we've seen examples of police protecting protestors and protestors embracing police and it's been beautiful to watch."
We cannot and should not allow those who want to cause havoc to hijack the narrative and bury stories of protestors and police officers embracing, walking together and coming to peaceful agreements over the death of George Floyd.