George Floyd protests in Richmond, Virginia | |||
---|---|---|---|
Part of George Floyd protests in Virginia | |||
![]() Black Lives Matter protesters by the graffitied Robert E. Lee Monument on May 31, 2020. | |||
Date | May 29 – August 16, 2020 [1] [2] (2 months, 2 weeks and 4 days) | ||
Location | Richmond, Virginia, United States | ||
Caused by | |||
Goals |
| ||
Methods | |||
Resulted in |
| ||
Parties | |||
| |||
Lead figures | |||
Contents | |||
Casualties | |||
Injuries | At least 25 | ||
Arrested | 400–500 |
Richmond, Virginia, experienced a series of riots in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Richmond was the first city in the Southeastern United States to see rioting following Floyd's murder. Richmond, formerly the capital of the short-lived Confederate States of America, saw much arson and vandalism to monuments connected with that polity, particularly along Monument Avenue.
Riots began in late May 2020 and gradually subsided by mid-August 2020. Given the city's Confederate roots, many of the areas of attack by rioters were the statues along Monument Avenue, near The Fan neighborhood of Richmond. During the first wave of Floyd riots, all major monuments (except the Arthur Ashe Monument) were defaced and sprayed with graffiti. Five statues were toppled by rioters. Some of the statues toppled included the Jefferson Davis Memorial, statues of Christopher Columbus and Confederate General Williams Carter Wickham, and the Howitzer Monument.
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill. [4] Derek Chauvin, a white police officer who knelt on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed. While Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck, Floyd was begging for his life and repeatedly saying "I can't breathe". [5] [6] Chauvin was on patrol with three other Minneapolis Police officers: J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao. Kueng, Lane, and Thao further restrained Floyd, while also preventing bystanders from intervening on the arrest. [7] [8] : 6:24 During the final three minutes Floyd was motionless and had no pulse [9] [10] while Chauvin ignored onlookers' pleas to remove his knee, which he did not do until medics told him to. [11] : 7:30
The next day, May 26, when videos made by witnesses and security cameras became public, [12] [13] all four officers were fired. Two autopsies found Floyd's death to be a homicide. [14] [15] Initially, Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, [16] to which was later added second-degree murder by Minnesota Attorney General, Keith Ellison; the three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. [5] [17] [10]
Floyd's murder triggered demonstrations and protests in many U.S. cities and around the world against police brutality, income inequality, capitalism, institutional racism, and lack of police accountability. [18] Protests reached the Richmond area about three days after Floyd's murder.
The first organized protest in the city began on the evening of May 29 and went on into the early morning hours of May 30. Protesters organized at Monroe Park and marched down Franklin Street through the Monroe Ward neighborhood. There, they were confronted by the Richmond Police Department (RPD), VCU Police, and the Virginia Division of Capitol Police. Rioters set two police cruisers on fire, both of which were destroyed: one VCU cruiser and one RPD cruiser. [19] Additionally, protesters vandalized a GRTC Pulse rapid transit bus and set it on fire, destroying it. [20] [21] [22]
On the evening of May 30 into the early morning hours of May 31, several hundred protesters organized around the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University and marched down Monument Avenue. The street is well known as being the home of several prominent statues depicting Confederate generals in a positive and honorable light. These statues have, especially in recent years, been subject to vandalism, even prior to the Floyd riots. The first statue defaced was the J.E.B. Stuart Monument located at the intersection of Lombardy Street and Monument Ave. Vandals spray painted the statue and destroyed the fencing around the statue. Subsequently, rioters tagged the Robert E. Lee Monument with various slogans, including "Black Lives Matter", "Lynch Trump", "All Cops Are Bastards", and "Fuck Capitalism". The Jefferson Davis Memorial, and the Stonewall Jackson Monument were also damaged, although none of the statues were toppled.
The interior of the Memorial to the Women of the Confederacy was set on fire. Initially, the Richmond Fire Department reported that just the exterior was damaged. [23] Later on it was noted that the building's interior caught fire, destroying artifacts within the building. [24] [25] [26]
Demonstrators also defaced the sign for the Virginia Museum of History and Culture to re-read "Virginia Museum of Bullshit and Cultists". The Rumors of War statue by the Museum was left unharmed. Damage was also reported at the Whole Foods Market near the Allison Street transit station.
Riots and acts of vandalism went on until 3 or 4:00 a.m. on the morning of May 31. Numerous community members reorganized around the Lee Monument around 10:00 a.m. the next morning, with smaller groups organizing around the Stuart, Jackson, and Davis monuments. The statues along Monument Avenue were further defaced and spray painted. Skateboarders skated on the JEB Stuart monument.
Despite the city-wide curfew, riots continued into the early morning hours of June 1. Approximately 100 to 200 rioters were arrested. [27] Police reports indicated that there was less damage sustained than previous nights. [28] It was reported that several dumpsters, cars, and additional buildings were set on fire. [29]
Throughout the day there were small protests around the Lee and Stuart monuments. Around 5:30 to 6:00 p.m., several hundred protesters gathered near the city's Central Office District blocking streets. [30] Around 7:20 p.m., about forty minutes prior to curfew, Richmond police tear gassed a group of about 500 or 600 protestors that had gathered near the Stuart and Lee monuments. At the time of the tear gassing, the protesters were peaceful and kneeling, while chanting "Why are we here? LOVE!". [31] Drone footage showed the police standing in a diamond formation, with two officers in the center throwing or firing the first tear gas canisters. [32] This posture and formation of officers indicated that this was a premeditated action, [31] and not a response to being separated from their group as initially tweeted by the police department. [33] Later, the RPD tweeted that protesters were attempting to topple the statues. [34] The tear gassing was met with harsh criticism, and the police issued an apology. [35]
On the morning of June 2, Mayor Stoney addressed the press and citizens at Richmond City Hall regarding the police attacks on protesters on June 1. [36] He publicly apologized for the actions of the RPD. Citizens called on Stoney to fire and arrest the police officers involved in the tear gassing, with some calling on Stoney to resign as mayor. [37] Stoney joined protesters in their June 2 march as part of a promise to listen to the concerns and demands of protesters. [38]
Following the news of the statue removal, protests continued throughout the city, and were not attacked. [39] A vigil for Breonna Taylor was held at Maymont Park on June 7, in celebration of what would have been her 27th birthday. [40] Also on June 2, a group of officers were filmed as one of them appeared to repeatedly spit at a woman in handcuffs. [41]
On June 3, an open plaza was set up on the grounds of the Lee Monument to serve as a DIY cultural center.
On the night of June 6, protesters toppled a statue of Williams Carter Wickham, a Confederate general, in Monroe Park. [42] [43] The statue was erected in 1891, and descendants of Wickham had previously urged to remove the statue as early as 2017. [44] [45]
Three days later, on the night of June 9, rioters went to the Christopher Columbus statue in Byrd Park, set it on fire, [46] toppled the statue, [47] and threw it into Fountain Lake on the Byrd Park grounds, making it the second toppled statue in a week in the city. [48] The following evening, on June 10 around 11:00 p.m., rioters tore down the Jefferson Davis statue on Monument Avenue, making it the third statue toppled in the city. [49] [50]
On Saturday, June 13, a march was held on Monument Avenue called the "5,000 Man March." Following this, Mayor Stoney asked the Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Richmond to investigate the march. [51] [52] The RPD also announced their own internal investigation. [53] [54]
During the early morning hours of June 15, a protest was held outside of the Richmond Police Headquarters against the [[police brutality exhibited by the RPD over the previous two weeks. Police shot protesters with non-lethal bullets and tear gas. [55] The next day, June 16, Chief William Smith of the Richmond Police resigned at the request of Stoney. [56] [57]
On June 17, a fourth statue was toppled in Richmond, the third Confederate statue. The statue, the Confederate Howitzer Statue, was located on the Monroe Park campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, and was unveiled in 1892. The Howitzer Statue celebrated a Confederate artillery unit. [58] On June 19, various Juneteenth celebrations were held across the region. Around this time, a sign was placed by the Lee Monument proclaiming the area as "Marcus-David Peters Circle", honoring the late Peters, who died while in RPD custody. On June 20, in The Fan neighborhood nearby, protesters tore down the First Virginia Regiment Monument, a statue commemorating Revolutionary War veterans.
On June 22, protesters rallied outside of Richmond City Hall during a City Council meeting, [59] demanding the abolition of the RPD, the creation of a Citizens Review Board with subpoena power, and a "Marcus Alert System", which would send trained social workers to a mental health crisis instead of police. [59] That evening, protesters rallied out of the RPD headquarters in protest against police brutality. They were attacked by the RPD with rubber bullets, tear gas and pepper spray. [59]
On June 26, interim Police Chief Jody Blackwell stepped down. The same day, Levar Stoney announced Deputy Chief Gerald Smith of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department as the new Chief of the RPD. Smith would begin duties on July 1. [60]
On July 1, construction crews removed the Stonewall Jackson Statue at the corner of Arthur Ashe Boulevard and Monument Avenue, making it the first statue the city government had removed. On July 7, construction crews removed the J.E.B. Stuart Statue at the corner of Monument Avenue and Lombardy Street, making it the second statue the city government had removed. [61]
On July 25, a dump truck was set on fire during a Solidarity with Portland riot in south Richmond. An unlawful assembly was declared at 11 pm. Mayor Stoney and Police Chief Gerald Smith jointly announced that white supremacists had been acting as agents provocateurs, "marching under the banner of Black Lives Matter, an attempt to undermine an otherwise overwhelmingly peaceful movement." [62] [63]
Throughout August, more efforts were made by the Richmond Police Department and the mayor's office to quell the ongoing protests and riots, which had been occurring for nearly two months. On August 7, the Police Department actively disassembled camping area around the Lee Monument site, citing complaints from nearby residents. [64] On August 11, the unofficial historic markers were removed by city officials, and the RPD upped its efforts to prevent overnight camping on the site. [65]
On August 13, the ongoing protests joined with student activist groups at nearby Virginia Commonwealth University to defund or abolish the VCU Police Department. [66] Demands included the release the department's line-item budget for the last five fiscal years, for the university to sever ties with the Richmond Police Department, to redirect all police monies to mental health services, and to actively ban the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from entering the campus. [67]
On August 16, the sign marking the name "Marcus-David Peters Circle" was removed, although the RPD denied responsibility.
On May 31, 2020, Mayor Levar Stoney issued a city-wide curfew from 8:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. [68] for non-essential workers in the wake of the ongoing protests. [69] The curfew went into effect on May 31 and was to be lifted on June 3.Was it? [70] Additionally, Virginia governor Ralph Northam issued a state of emergency. [71] [ when? ]
On June 1, 2020, the Richmond, Virginia chapter of Our Revolution called for Stoney and Chief William C. Smith to resign in regards to their handling of the protests. [72]
Several statewide politicians, including Jennifer McClellan and Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, condemned the use of the Richmond Police's use of tear gas on civilians. A majority of members of the Richmond City Council expressed support for there to be a Citizen's Review Board and Mental Health Alert service for the Richmond Police Department. [73] [ clarification needed ]
On June 3, 2020, Stoney announced his intention to introduce an ordinance to remove the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue. It was announced on June 4, that Governor Ralph Northam will announce plans to remove the Lee monument. That same day a press conference attended by Northam and Stoney confirmed the removal of the monument. Speaking of the removal, Northam said "You see, in Virginia, we no longer preach a false version of history. One that pretends the Civil War was about ‘state rights’ and not the evils of slavery. No one believes that any longer". [74]
On June 5, 2020, all nine members of the Richmond City Council backed the removal of all five Confederate monuments in the city limits. [75] Reva Trammell, who represents the 8th district in the city stated that "while many citizens support putting the Confederate statues in a museum, some oppose it. After giving this much thought, I will vote to take them down. I feel it is the right thing to do. I never thought I would live to see the kind of damage and destruction that has been inflicted on Richmond, and we need to end this now." [75]
On June 16, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said he did not support the protesters demands to defund state police, and offered additional reforms instead, which was met with widespread criticism. [76] The following day, the Republican Party of Virginia called for Stoney to resign as the Mayor of Richmond, Virginia. Stoney never responded to the statement. [77]
On June 23, 2020, rapper and Virginia native Trey Songz called for Stoney to resign due to his appointment of Jody Blackwell as interim Police Chief. [78] [79]
On August 3, 2020, a court injunction prevented the removal of the Lee Statue on Monument Ave, allowing the Lee Statue to remain while the other Confederate monuments on the street were removed. [80] On October 27, 2020, part of the injunction was dissolved by a Richmond area judge. [81] On November 12, 2020, Virginia Attorney General, Mark Herring, asked the Supreme Court of Virginia to dissolve the remainder of the injunction. [82] [83] On January 25, 2021, the City of Richmond installed an eight-foot tall chain link barrier fence around the Monument and removed personal items from the circle, in anticipation of the removal of the statue. [84] [85]
In September 2021, the statue of Lee was taken down.
After the protesting and riots for George Floyd, Stoney's administration left the monuments vandalized or destroyed (such as the statue of Christopher Columbus erected by Richmond's Italian-American community). Acquiescing to the demands of the demonstrators, Stoney and Governor Northam began the process of their removal. The only statue left on Richmond's Monument Avenue is of the African-American tennis player Arthur Ashe.
Following Charlottesville's removal and donation of what? to an African-American museum, where plans were to melt down the monument, Stoney decided to donate the Confederate statues to Virginia's Black History Museum. [86] The fate of these monuments was decided only days before Republican Glenn Youngkin assumed the office of Governor of Virginia.
Levar Stoney was ultimately reelected as mayor, defeating the more progressive challenger, Alexsis Rodgers, and the more centrist challenger, Kim Gray, in a three-way race.
Monument Avenue is a tree-lined grassy mall dividing the eastbound and westbound traffic in Richmond, Virginia, originally named for its emblematic complex of structures honoring those who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Between 1900 and 1925, Monument Avenue greatly expanded with architecturally significant houses, churches, and apartment buildings. Four of the bronze statues representing J. E. B. Stuart, Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis and Matthew Fontaine Maury were removed from their memorial pedestals amidst civil unrest in July 2020. The Robert E. Lee monument was handled differently as it was owned by the Commonwealth, in contrast with the other monuments which were owned by the city. Dedicated in 1890, it was removed on September 8, 2021. All these monuments, including their pedestals, have now been removed completely from the Avenue. The last remaining statue on Monument Avenue is the Arthur Ashe Monument, memorializing the African-American tennis champion, dedicated in 1996.
A police riot is a riot carried out by the police; more specifically, it is a riot that police are responsible for instigating, escalating or sustaining as a violent confrontation. Police riots are often characterized by widespread police brutality, and they may be done for the purpose of political repression.
The Mayor of the City of Richmond, Virginia is head of the executive branch of Richmond, Virginia's city government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city, state and federal laws within Richmond, Virginia.
The Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, Virginia, was the first installation on Monument Avenue in 1890, and would ultimately be the last Confederate monument removed from the site. Before its removal on September 8, 2021, the monument honored Confederate Civil War General Robert E. Lee, depicted on a horse atop a large marble base that stood over 60 feet (18 m) tall. Constructed in France and shipped to Virginia, it remained the largest installation on Monument Avenue for over a century; it was first listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 and the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2006.
Levar Marcus Stoney is an American politician who has served as the 80th mayor of Richmond, Virginia since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2014 through 2016, being the youngest member of Governor Terry McAuliffe's administration.
The George Floyd protests were a series of riots and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as reactions to the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed African American man, by city police during an arrest. They spread nationally and internationally. Veteran officer Derek Chauvin was recorded as kneeling on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds; Floyd complained of not being able to breathe, but three other officers looked on and prevented passers-by from intervening. Chauvin and the other three officers involved were later arrested. In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. In June 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22+1⁄2 years in prison.
Richmond, Virginia, held a general election on November 3, 2020. Voters elected the mayor of Richmond, Virginia, members of the Richmond City Council, and several other local officials. The incumbent, Levar Stoney, who was elected in 2016, ran for reelection, facing five challengers. While local races in Virginia are officially nonpartisan elections, four candidates identified with the Democratic party while Griffin ran as an independent. Stoney won the most votes in six out of nine city council districts, and therefore won reelection. In order to win election, a candidate must receive the most votes in five or more districts.
This is a list of George Floyd protests in Virginia. Following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer, protests spread from Minneapolis to other parts of the United States, including Virginia. Protests broke out in Richmond on the night of May 28 and spread to over 50 other cities over the following days.
The George Floyd protests and riots in Philadelphia were a series of protests and riots occurring in the City of Philadelphia. Unrest in the city began as a response to the murder of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Numerous protests, rallies and marches took place in Philadelphia in solidarity with protestors in Minneapolis and across the United States. These demonstrations call for justice for Floyd and protest police brutality. After several days of protests and riots, Philadelphia leadership joined other major cities, including Chicago in instituting a curfew, beginning Saturday, May 30, at 8 p.m. The protests concluded on June 23, 2020.
This is a list of George Floyd protests in Alabama, United States. Protests occurred in fourteen various communities in the state.
This is a list of George Floyd protests in North Carolina, United States.
The J. E. B. Stuart Monument is a deconstructed monument to Confederate general J. E. B. Stuart at the head of historic Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, which was dedicated in 1907. The equestrian statue of General Stuart was removed from its pedestal and placed into storage on July 7, 2020 after having stood there for 113 years. The removal was in response to nationally reported events of police brutality and a corresponding emergency declaration in Virginia. The granite pedestal, which stood empty for nineteen months, was finally dismantled in February 2022.
The Jefferson Davis Memorial was a memorial for Jefferson Davis (1808–1889), president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865, installed along Richmond, Virginia's Monument Avenue, in the United States. The monument was unveiled on Davis' birthday, June 3, 1907, a day celebrated in Virginia and many other Southern states as Confederate Memorial Day. It consisted of a bronze statue of Davis by Richmond sculptor Edward Valentine surrounded by a colonnade of 13 columns represented the Southern states, and a tall Doric column topped by a bronze statue, also by Valentine, representing Southern womanhood.
The Stonewall Jackson Monument in Richmond, Virginia, was erected in honor of Thomas Jonathon "Stonewall" Jackson, a Confederate general. The monument was located at the centre of the crossing of Monument Avenue and North Arthur Ashe Boulevard, in Richmond, Virginia. The bronze equestrian statue was unveiled in 1919. Along this avenue were other statues including Robert E. Lee, J. E. B. Stewart, Jefferson Davis, Matthew Maury and more recently Arthur Ashe. Thomas Jackson is best known as one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted commanders throughout the early period of the American Civil War between Southern Confederate states and Northern Union states. He rose to prominence after his vital role in the Confederate victory at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, continuing to command troops until his untimely death on May 10, 1863, after falling fatally ill following the amputation of his wounded arm.
The Matthew Fontaine Maury Monument, is a partially deconstructed memorial installed along Richmond, Virginia's Monument Avenue depicting Matthew Fontaine Maury and commemorating his Confederate naval service and contributions to oceanography and naval meteorology. It features the engraved moniker "Pathfinder of the Seas". Between July 2–9, 2020, the bronze statue of Maury and other sculptural elements were removed from the monument by the city of Richmond, in response to local protests connected to nationwide unrest sparked by the murder of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
The murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, triggered a wave of protests throughout Tennessee in late May and early June 2020. These protests continued throughout the year.
A statue of Christopher Columbus was installed in Richmond, Virginia in 1927, where it stood until 2020 when it was torn down by protestors in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and thrown into a nearby lake.
The Arthur Ashe Monument is a bronze sculpture by Paul DiPasquale installed along Richmond, Virginia's Monument Avenue. The statue depicts tennis player Arthur Ashe, who was born, raised and buried in Richmond.
The George Floyd protests in Atlanta were a series of protests occurring in Atlanta, the capital and largest city of Georgia, United States. The protests were part of the George Floyd protests and, more broadly, the 2020–2021 United States racial unrest, which began shortly after the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. On May 26, protesting occurred in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area and, over the next several weeks, protests spread to cities throughout the United States and then internationally.
The updated report states that on May 25, George Floyd experienced a cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officer(s).
{{cite web}}
: |last=
has generic name (help)