BLACK LIVES MATTER - What has protesting accomplished?

Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay

Within the first few weeks of sustained protests the following has been accomplished so far:

Minneapolis bans use of chokeholds.

Charges are upgraded against Officer Chauvin, and his accomplices are arrested and charged.

Dallas adopts a "duty to intervene" rule that requires officers to stop other cops who are engaging in inappropriate use of force. A temporary Black Lives Matter was painted outside Dallas City Hall.

New Jersey’s attorney general said the state will update its use-of-force guidelines for the first time in two decades.

Maryland, a bipartisan workgroup of state lawmakers announced a police reform workgroup.

California bans private prisons and immigration detention centers. It moved to end the use of private, for-profit lockups in America’s largest state prison system as well as in federal immigration detention centers in the state under a measure signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Los Angeles City Council introduces motion to reduce LAPD’s $1.8 billion operating budget.

MBTA in Boston agrees to stop using public buses to transport police officers to protests.

Police Brutality captured on cameras leads to near-immediate suspensions and firings of officers in several cities (i.e., Buffalo, Ft. Lauderdale).

Monuments celebrating confederates are removed in cities in Virginia, Alabama, Florida and other states.

• "The University of Alabama announced it would remove three plaques dedicated to Confederate soldiers who attended the school. The plaques will be placed in an "a more appropriate historical," setting, according to the school.
• The Confederate monument in Hemming Park in Jacksonville, Florida, was removed.  Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry announced all Confederate memorials in the city would be removed
• Other confirmed Confederate monuments which would be removed were from sites in Indianapolis, Richmond and Alexandria, Virginia, and Birmingham, Alabama." - ABC News

Street in front of the White House is renamed "Black Lives Matter Plaza.” "by the Mayor Muriel Bowser on June 5, 2020, after the Department of Public Works painted the words "Black Lives Matter" in 35-foot (11 m) yellow capital letters, along with the flag of Washington, D.C., as part of the George Floyd protests. Black Lives Matter DC activists, on the evening of June 6, 2020, removed the three stars from the D.C. flag and added "Defund the Police" in capital letters to the end of the mural." - Wikipedia 

Military forces begin to withdraw from D.C.- "Mayor Muriel Bowser asked that Trump withdraw "all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence" from D.C. On Sunday, Trump ordered the National Guard troops to begin withdrawing from the city." - Yahoo News

 Juneteenth Declared a State Holiday in Pennsylvania by Gov. Tom Wolf. "A National Freedom Day to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States.To also recognise the importance of continuing to build a nation that truly reflects the self-evident truth that all people are created equal.” 

Then, there's all the other stuff that's hard to measure:

The really difficult public and private conversations that are happening about race and privilege.

The realizations some white people are coming to about racism and the role of policing in the U.S. and Globally.

The self-reflection and personal growth that a lot of people are going through.

The internal battles exploding within organizations over issues that have been simmering or ignored for a long time. Some organizations will end as a result, others will be forever changed, or replaced with something stronger and fairer.

The changes and further consideration/review Business Owners, TV Companies, Sports Institutions, Brands are making to support Black Lives Matter Cause. Including the removal historical racist and slavery TV shows.

Image by UnratedStudio from Pixabay 

Globally:

Protests against racial inequality sparked by the police killing of George Floyd are taking place all over the world.

Rallies and memorials have been held in cities across Europe, as well as in Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, South Africa.

As the US contends with its second week of protests, issues of racism, police brutality, and oppression have been brought to light across the globe.

People all over the world understand that their own fights for human rights, for equality and fairness, will become so much more difficult to win if we are going to lose America as the place where 'I have a dream' is a real and universal political program," Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German ambassador to the US, told the New Yorker.

In France, protesters marched holding signs that said "I can't Breathe" to signify both the words of Floyd, and the last words of Adama Traoré, a 24-year-old black man who was subdued by police officers and gasped the sentence before he died outside Paris in 2016. French Police have now banned choke holds.

Cities across Europe have come together after the death of George Floyd:

England and Wales Labour Councils plan to review Historical Statues of Slave Owners. This following a group of people involved in the protests in Bristol removed a Edward Colston who was a Slave Trader. Consequently a statue of Robert Milligan in London was taken down by The Canal River Trust. People have protested in most cities in U.K. in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Amsterdam, an estimated 10,000 people filled the Dam Square on Monday, holding signs and shouting popular chants like "Black lives matter," and "No justice, No Peace." "The black community in the Bijlmer has been a victim of oppression for decades. Racism and police violence have been the subject of frequent attention in the Bijlmer since the 1990s," organizers said in a statement. 

Germany, people gathered in multiple locations throughout Berlin to demand justice for Floyd and fight against police brutality. A mural dedicated to George Floyd was also spray-painted on a stretch of wall in Berlin that once divided the German capital during the Cold War.

Ireland, protesters held a peaceful demonstration outside of Belfast City Hall, and others gathered outside of the US embassy in Dublin.

Italy, protesters gathered and marched with signs that said "Stop killing black people," "Say his name," and "We will not be silent."

Spain, people gathered to march and hold up signs throughout Barcelona and Madrid.

Athens, Greece, protesters took to the streets to collectively hold up a sign that read "I can't breathe."

Brussels, protesters were seen sitting in a peaceful demonstration in front of an opera house in the center of the city.

Denmark, protesters were heard chanting "No justice, no peace!" throughout the streets of Copenhagen, while others gathered outside the US embassy.

Canada, protesters were also grieving for Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old black woman who died on Wednesday after falling from her balcony during a police investigation at her building.

Australia tens of thousands of people marched through cities and towns for Black Lives Matter protests, to oppose the 432 deaths of Indigenous people in police custody since the 1990’s, and the fact that not one of those deaths has seen any justice, With zero convictions of any police or corrections officers involved in these deaths.

New Zealand, roughly 2,000 people marched to the US embassy in Auckland, chanting and carrying signs demanding justice.

Memorials have been built for Floyd around the world, too. In Mexico City, portraits of him were hung outside the US embassy with roses, candles, and signs.

Balkans and in Central Europe - "Activists in Zagreb, Belgrade, Podgorica, Warsaw and Sofia rallied to show solidarity but also to point out the problem of racism and police violence in their own countries." Poland, candles and flowers were laid out next to photos of Floyd outside the US consulate.

Syria, two artists created a mural depicting Floyd in the northwestern town of Binnish, "on a wall destroyed by military planes. The mural reads “I Can’t Breathe” and “No to Racism”. "

Palestine  full-blown Palestinians for Black Lives movement is taking shape.

 Tunisia - "Anti-Racist organization Mnemty, spearheaded by Tunisian Anti-Racism activist Saadia Mosbah, organized a protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. According to the organizers, the protest is a stance in solidarity with #BLM and against anti-black racism in Tunisia."

Before the murder of George Floyd some of you were able to say whatever the hell you wanted and the world didn't say anything to you...

THERE HAS BEEN A SHIFT, AN AWAKENING...MANY OF YOU ARE BEING EXPOSED FOR WHO YOU REALLY ARE. #readthatagain

• Don't wake up tomorrow on the wrong side of this issue.

It's not too late to SAY -

• Maybe I need to look at this from a different perspective.
• Maybe I don't know what it's like to be Black in America, or Australia, or anywhere...
• Maybe, just maybe, I have been taught wrong."
• There is still so much work to be done. It's been a really dark, raw week. This could still end badly. But all we can do is keep doing the work.

Keep Protesting (Peacefully)

WE ARE NOT TRYING TO START A RACE WAR; WE ARE PROTESTING TO END IT, PEACEFULLY.

How beautiful is that?

All lives cannot matter until you include Black Lives

You can't say 'All Lives Matter,' when you do nothing to stop systemic racism and police brutality.

You cannot say 'All Lives Matter,' when Black People are dying and all you complain about is the lootin. Or complain about the protestors partaking in marches due to the fear of potential spread of Coronavirus.

You cannot say 'All Lives Matter,' when you allow children to be caged, veterans to go homeless, and poor families to go hungry and to lose their Health Insurance (US).

You cannot say 'All Lives Matter,' when Black Communities neighbourhoods have been defunded from essential community services. When you complain about defunding the police without seeing that it is necessary for low income communities. When you refuse to see the humanity necessity to equally re-align society's funding priorities. This in the long could help reduce crime, improve social, education, health, economic and financial welfare for most black people living in deprived areas. 

DO ALL LIVES MATTER? YES.

BUT RIGHT NOW, ONLY BLACK LIVES ARE BEING TARGETED, JAILED, AND KILLED EN MASSE- SO THAT'S WHO WE'RE FOCUSING ON.

BLACK LIVES MATTER

IF YOU CAN'T SEE THIS, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM.

Original Source of Content from Facebook (Writer Unknown):

Originated from the US, but has been added to. If you have something to add, please do), Copy and Paste and Create Your Own Post. Some parts of the content have also been amended by me with the latest updates.

RESOURCES:

1. Learn More About Black Lives Matter movement and cause the following link- https://blacklivesmatter.com/global-actions/

2. Institutional racism Definition (also known as systemic racism): is a form of racism expressed in the practice of social and political institutions. It is reflected in disparities regarding wealth, income, criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, political power and education, among other factors. - Wikipedia 

3. "Powerful Photos of Black Lives Matter Protests Around The World."

4. Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man

(Pic Courtesy: Erin Jones/CBS 11 News): The art, approved by Dallas city, was created

by dozens of volunteers overnight and has already created quite an impact.