The latest on protests against racism and police brutality from around the country and the world.

A group of interfaith leaders held a prayer vigil Sunday outside St. John’s Church near the White House, where President Donald Trump held a June 1 appearance that sparked criticism after protesters were forcibly cleared from the area.

The faith leaders, representing multiple Christian denominations as well as Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh faiths, addressed a crowd of several dozen at the edge of the recently named Black Lives Matter Plaza with a message of racial justice.

“The government stands under God’s judgment, and must therefore be held accountable for protecting the innocent, guaranteeing basic freedoms and liberties, and establishing justice and equality,” said Bishop LaTrelle Easterling, leader of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Among the speakers at St. John’s was Rev. William Barber, leader of the Poor People’s Campaign movement on behalf of lower-income Americans, who also addressed Sunday services at the Washington National Cathedral.

Mother of Trayvon Martin joins hundreds of demonstrators at Miami rally

MIAMI — The mother of Trayvon Martin joined hundreds of demonstrators at a rally in downtown Miami on Sunday, demanding racial equality following the death of George Floyd last month at the hands of a white police officer in Minnesota.

Sybrina Fulton joined the demonstrators who carried signs that read “Stop Killing Us” and “We Are All Equal” at the Torch of Friendship, a 60-year-old monument erected as a welcoming beacon to the city’s Latin American and Caribbean neighbors. The protest organized by several churches was one of several across Florida on Sunday.

Fulton’s unarmed son, Trayon Martin, was killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, while walking back from a central Florida convenience store in 2012. The teen’s killing helped plant the seeds of the Black Lives Matter movement, which grew after the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York.

Fulton is currently running for a seat on the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners.

At one point, demonstrators lined up U.S. flags that spelled out “RESIST” on a blocked-off downtown street.

Nearby at a separate protest, dozens of police supporters waved flags and chanted “We support the police!” at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami. At one point, about three dozen officers on bikes rode by the protesters and gave high-fives to supporters who applauded and took photos.

Statues, Atlanta shooting new focal point of U.S. protests

A makeshift memorial popped up Sunday at a fast-food restaurant where a black man was fatally shot by a white Atlanta police officer, one of the latest deaths of black men that have ignited a new wave of anti-racism protests across the country.

Early Sunday, Atlanta police announced that an officer, Garrett Rolfe, had been fired following the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks, 27, on Friday night, and another officer, Devin Brosnan, had been placed on administrative duty.

Roughly 150 protesters marched outside the Wendy’s restaurant outside where Brooks was shot, reigniting demonstrations that had largely simmered in the Georgia capital nearly three weeks after George Floyd, another black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck. Both Rolfe and Brosnan are white.

Atlanta police said Sunday that 36 people had been arrested in connection with the protests, but gave no further details.

Meanwhile, the rapidly unfolding movement to take down Confederate statues in the U.S. grew over the weekend.

Read the story here.

At least 7 Minneapolis police officers have quit, 7 in process of resigning

At least seven Minneapolis police officers have quit and another seven are in the process of resigning, citing a lack of support from department and city leaders as protests over George Floyd’s death escalated.

Current and former officers told The Minneapolis Star Tribune that officers are upset with Mayor Jacob Frey’s decision to abandon the Third Precinct station during the protests.

Demonstrators set the building on fire after officers left. Protesters also have hurled bricks and insults at officers, numerous officers and protesters have been injured and the state has launched a civil rights investigation into the department.

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar told CNN on Sunday that the department is “rotten to the root.”

Mylan Masson, a retired Minneapolis officer and use-of-force expert, says officers don’t feel appreciated.

Thousands join in Sunday prayer and protest in front of White House

WASHINGTON – Black Lives Matter Plaza was turned into a church Sunday morning, with thousands of mostly African American churchgoers praying, protesting and dancing near the White House after marching from the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The prayer march, vigil and rally were organized by regional NAACP branches and Alexandria’s historic Alfred Street Baptist Church, which has roots in the time of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency.

It was one of the largest faith-based events in the more than two weeks of protests that have consumed the nation’s capital since George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in May, and it was the first big public event organized by black clergy. Organizers said that was due to extra caution in the African American community, which has been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Mask Required! Safe Social Distancing Enforced,” organizers instructed beforehand, and the march and rally were patrolled by marshals monitoring safety. Demonstrators were spaced out in rows, and organizers frequently paused the flow of marchers to keep buffers between them. People bunched up in places, but for the most part wore masks, including many with African-style patterns.

Alfred Street Pastor Howard-John Wesley said he and other clergy were also waiting for an event infused with prayer – and safety. The Trump administration forcibly removed protesters from the area near Lafayette Square on June 1, ahead of President Donald Trump’s photo opportunity at a historic church. On Sunday, that show of federal force was replaced with prayer.

“We were waiting for a call for something not just incensed with anger but something that integrated our faith,” Wesley said. “We wanted to carve out something safe for teens – I was scared to let them come downtown. We wanted to teach them about protesting peacefully.”

And on Sunday that is what they found.

“It’s not rage or anger. God is here and that’s hopeful,” he said.

Many marchers taking part in what was organized as a “prayer walk” emphasized the need for activism steeped in prayer. They cited the famous scripture from the Book of James: “Faith without works is dead.”

Walking up 15th Street NW, they paused at stations where people could pause to pray – for “affordable health care,” for “victims of police brutality,” for “the courage to speak truth to power.” They also chanted the names of people killed by police and spoke of daily affronts.

‘Long overdue’: White NHL players find their voice on racism

Brian Boyle is a 35-year-old grizzled veteran of 13 National Hockey League seasons who grew up outside Boston.

After seeing video of George Floyd’s death, Boyle wanted to say something. The Florida Panthers forward, though, wasn’t sure how and didn’t want it to come off the wrong way. He wound up calling former teammate J.T. Brown to ask some questions — and listen. Brown is 29, black and the only player so far to protest racial injustice and police brutality during the national anthem of an NHL game, back in 2017.

The two talked about how Floyd’s death had affected Brown.

“I was kind of at his mercy,” said Boyle, who is white. “I just don’t understand this pain. I’ve never had to live this pain.”

Floyd’s death in police custody has touched off an extraordinary reckoning of race and race relations and sports has been part of it, from European soccer to the NFL. It has also made ripples in NASCAR, which like the NHL has predominately white athletes and, by most accounts, a larger fan base among whites than people of color.

NHL players have no sustained track record of speaking out on societal issues, perhaps part of the reticence that is generally found in hockey. There was no collective outrage after Akim Aliu, Devante Smith-Pelly and Wayne Simmonds joined the list of players who have publicly described their personal experience with racism in hockey.

This time, the culture of silence was nowhere to be found in a league that is over 95% white.

Read the full story here.

U.S. base namesakes include slaveholders, failed generals

CINCINNATI — As much as President Donald Trump enjoys talking about winning and winners, the Confederate generals he vows will not have their names removed from U.S. military bases were not only on the losing side of rebellion against the United States, some weren’t even considered good generals.

The 10 generals include some who made costly battlefield blunders; others mistreated captured Union soldiers, some were slaveholders and one was linked to the Ku Klux Klan after the war.

Trump has dug in his heels on renaming, saying the bases that trained and deployed heroes for two World Wars “have become part of a Great American Heritage, a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom.”

However, there is growing support in the GOP- led Senate to remove the Confederate names and from former U.S. military leaders such as retired 4-star general David Petraeus, who wrote last week that the bases are named ”for those who took up arms against the United States, and for the right to enslave others.”

This Nov. 5, 2009 file photo shows the entrance to Fort Hood Army Base in Fort Hood, Texas, near Killeen. AP Photo/Jack Plunkett, File

Long revered in much of the South, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee has often been a flashpoint for opponents of honoring Confederates who triggered a war that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans on U.S. soil in some of the bloodiest fighting ever seen.

Trump paid tribute to Lee as “a great general” in an impromptu Civil War history lesson during a 2018 rally in Lebanon, Ohio, saying Abraham Lincoln developed “a phobia” about trying to defeat Lee before turning to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant of nearby Point Pleasant, Ohio, for success.

While Lee’s early victories put the Union Army on the defensive, his failure at the decisive battle of Gettysburg in 1863, capped by the disastrous Pickett’s Charge into Union fire, was the turning point of the war.

Lee has been portrayed in the South as a gentlemanly hero, but he had been a slaveholder in his native Virginia and at least one of his former slaves testified that Lee had him whipped brutally.

Read the full story here.

Protesters in U.S. call attention to deaths of more black men

Protests initially ignited by the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police continued over the weekend, as anti-racism protesters in the United States sought to call attention to the deaths of two more black men and Black Lives Matter demonstrations unfolded in London and Paris.

Early Sunday, Atlanta police announced that an officer, Garrett Rolfe, had been fired following the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks, 27, on Friday night, and another officer, Devin Brosnan, had been placed on administrative duty. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has called for the immediate firing of the officer who opened fire on Brooks at a press conference Saturday evening, where she also announced that she had accepted the resignation of Police Chief Erika Shields.

“I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force,” Bottoms said.

Protesters block traffic on the highway during protests Saturday, June 13, near the Atlanta Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by police Friday evening following a struggle in the restaurant’s drive-thru line. AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
Roughly 150 protesters marched outside the Wendy’s restaurant outside where Brooks was shot, reigniting demonstrations that had largely simmered in the Georgia capital nearly three weeks after Floyd, another black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck. Both Rolfe and Brosnan are white.

The Wendy’s was set aflame at one point Saturday night, although the fire was out before midnight. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that Brooks, who was seen on body camera video sleeping in a car blocking the Wendy’s drive thru, failed a sobriety test and was shot in a struggle over a police Taser.

Stacey Abrams, the Georgia Democrat who gained national prominence running for governor in 2018, tweeted that “sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death.”

In Palmdale, California, hundreds of people on Saturday marched to demand an investigation into the death of Robert Fuller, 24, who was found hanging from a tree early Wednesday near city hall. The protesters marched from where the body was found to a sheriff’s station, with many carrying signs that said “Justice for Robert Fuller.”

Authorities said the death appeared to be a suicide, but an autopsy was planned. The city said there were no outdoor cameras that could have recorded what happened.

Read the full story here.

Late Italian journalist becomes flashpoint for Italy’s Black Lives Matter protests

MILAN — Protesters have scrawled ‘’rapist’’ and ‘’racist’’ on the statue of a late Italian journalist who had acknowledged having had a 12-year-old Eritrean bride while stationed in the Italian colony in the 1930s.

The statue of Indro Montanelli, inside a Milan park that bears his name, has been a flashpoint in Italy’s Black Lives Matters protests, which have put renewed focus on Italy’s colonial past. Activists are also pushing for Italy to grant automatic citizenship to those born in Italy to parents who are permanent residents.

Montanelli, who died in 2001 at 92, was one of Italy’s most revered journalists, honored by the Vienna-based International Press Institute in 2000 as among the 50 World Press Freedom Heroes. A noted war correspondent, he chronicled contemporary Italy from its colonial era through fascism, Italy’s postwar reconstruction and the anti-corruption scandals that overturned Italy’s political class in the 1990s. .

In 1977, he was shot four times in the legs by the Red Brigade domestic terror group. He also mentored many of today’s top Italian journalists.

Paris police protest against accusations of racism

PARIS — French police officers held a small overnight protest at the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris amid police anger over what they call unfair accusations of racism and brutality.

A few dozen officers lay their handcuffs on the ground and surrounded the landmark with patrol cars, blue lights flashing to call attention to their cause, in images broadcast on French media and shared on social networks. Police unions held similar protests last week.

The Arc de Triomphe action came hours after at least 15,000 people demonstrated across town against racial injustice and police violence targeting minorities. The protest was among many in France in recent weeks inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and George Floyd’s death in the U.S.

In response to those protests, the French government on Monday banned police chokeholds and promised new efforts to root out racism in police ranks.

Police unions have pushed back, saying they need tools to apprehend unruly suspects and that painting the force as systemically racist risks worsening tensions in ethnically diverse neighborhoods. They also say they feel abandoned by a government they defended against violent yellow vest protesters.

The Arc de Triomphe was a flashpoint of tensions between police and protesters during the yellow vest anti-government movement for economic justice in 2018-2019.

UK police arrest more than 100 in protests

LONDON — British police say they have arrested more than 100 people after protesters, including far-right activists, clashed with officers in London.

Hundreds of right-wing activists turned out for demonstrations Saturday in London, with many saying they wanted to “protect” monuments and statues targeted recently by anti-racism protesters for links to slavery and British colonialism.

The protests, which were attended by far-right groups including Britain First, turned violent when some scuffled with riot police and others hurled bottles, flares and smoke grenades at officers. Six police officers suffered minor injuries.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the violence, saying “racist thuggery has no place on our streets.”

An official Black Lives Matter protest, originally planned for Saturday, had been called off over fears of conflict with right-wing activists. Some anti-racism protesters demonstrated mostly peacefully in separate locations.

Police said a 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of outraging public decency after a protester was pictured apparently urinating on a London memorial dedicated to Keith Palmer, a policeman stabbed to death in a 2017 terror attack.

Clemson football team leads demonstrators in march for equality

CLEMSON, S.C. — Members of the Clemson University football team led hundreds of demonstrators on the school’s campus Saturday as they marched for equality and against police brutality.

The demonstration included a moment of silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time prosecutors say George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was pinned to the ground with his neck under a white Minneapolis police officer’s knee before he died last month.

“This is a historic time, and a challenging time,” head football coach Dabo Swinney told the crowd. “But as I tell my team all the time, challenge is what creates change. … Black lives more than matter — black lives significantly matter and equally matter. For far too long that has not been the case for the black community.”

The protest was organized by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, linebacker Mike Jones Jr., wide receiver Cornell Powell and running back Darien Rencher, according to news outlets.

The march came a day after Clemson trustees voted to rename its honors college, stripping from the program the name of former vice president and slavery proponent John C. Calhoun.

Calhoun, who was born in South Carolina, declared slavery a “positive good” on the U.S. Senate floor in 1837.

Before the administrators’ vote, an online petition by students calling for the name to be changed drew more than 20,000 signatures. Clemson football alumni and one-time Houston Texans teammates DeAndre Hopkins and Deshaun Watson voiced support for the petition on social media.

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