Thousands of people demonstrated in Los Angeles against police violence and racism on June 2, 2020. - P.BERRY / 20MINUTES

  • George Floyd was killed by a white policeman a week ago in Minnesota.
  • Since then, protests have multiplied in the United States to denounce police violence and racism.
  • On Tuesday, several thousand people marched in Los Angeles, and 20 Minutes was on site.

From our correspondent in Los Angeles,

"What do we want?" Justice! When do we want it? Now! Armored vehicles and the National Guard soldiers on Hollywood Boulevard did not deter the demonstrators. A week after the death of George Floyd, an African American who was suffocated under the knee of a white policeman in Minnesota, several thousand Los Angeles residents marched again on Tuesday. And hundreds of thousands of Americans have done the same across the country, from Washington to Portland. Despite incidents in Atlanta and arrests in the evening of demonstrators who violated the curfews set up in many metropolises, the processions were more peaceful than the previous days, which had been marked by riots and looting.

While Donald Trump promised "law and order", the crowd, grouped in the middle of the afternoon at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine, claims "justice and change", with the presidential election of November online target. "We are angry. It's even stronger, it's rage. It is not fair against police brutality. It is against systemic racism, discrimination in hiring, mass incarceration and injustice in the health system, ”denounces Joshua, a neo-Angeleno born in the South American. “The pressure on George Floyd's neck lasted 8 minutes. The black population lives with this oppression every second in the United States. While the coronavirus has widened economic inequality, and mortality is twice as high among African-Americans, the pressure has "built up for three months," he said. And the death of George Floyd blew everything up.

"No justice, no peace"

The crowd that progresses on Sunset Boulevard is like Los Angeles: young and cosmopolitan, and, Covid obliges, most often masked. The cars which try to pass give their support by honking their horns or by distributing water or hydroalcoholic gel for free. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter is everywhere on the signs, as is #ICantBreath ("I can't breathe"), the last words of George Floyd. But also those of Eric Garner, who died in similar conditions in New York in 2014.

Coming from South Los Angeles, a predominantly black and Latin suburb, Destiny and Jamisha sing in chorus "No justice, no peace", a refrain already chanted during the riots of 1992 after the acquittal of police tried for Rodney King's beating. But also "Hand's up, don't shoot", popularized during the Ferguson demonstrations after the death of Mike Brown in 2014.

"What is different is the awareness of white people"

Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and many others - more than 1,000 Americans are killed by police each year, with a 2.5-fold higher rate of African-American victims than white ones. Ish calls out these names with the help of a megaphone. If he does not excuse the violence of the last few days, he understands it: “We are frustrated. We want to scream. We're tired of dying. We kneeled peacefully for years, and it was already too much for some. According to him, "the change will take time, but what seems to be different this time is the awareness and mobilization of white people."

As curfew time approaches, organizers of Black Lives Matter LA launch an appeal on Instagram: "Meet in front of the mayor's residence" Eric Garcetti. The police crisscross the neighborhood and block the main entrances with yellow "Do not cross" tape to channel the crowd. Hundreds of people gather and call for "cut funds to police" - the day before, LAPD chief Michael Moore said looters were "as responsible (as the police)" for the death of George Floyd .

Thousands of people demonstrated in Los Angeles against police violence and racism on June 2, 2020. - P.BERRY / 20MINUTES

The tone rises between an American journalist and actor-activist Kendrick Sampson ( Insecure ), co-founder of BLD PWR, a group that promotes civic engagement in Hollywood and among athletes. Sampson concludes by summing up a feeling shared by many demonstrators: “We are tired of dying. I will not accept that my nephews, nieces or future children be killed by the police. "

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  • Los Angeles
  • United States
  • Police violence
  • Minneapolis
  • World