10 protests that have defined 2020 so far


You’ll likely tell your grandkids about the protests you attended in 2020. 

Future historians, too, will toil over the twists that emerged on what felt like a daily basis throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Even before COVID-19 fully gripped the world, 2020 was shaping up to be a year of activism. 

Then, of course, the virus disrupted that — for a time. With much of the world implementing some form of social distancing, more routine protests, such as climate strikes and the LGBTQ Day of Silence, were moved online. Small protests also emerged during the earlier months of the pandemic in states like Michigan and Virginia as conservative activists demonstrated their opposition to the science-backed stay-at-home orders meant to slow the coronavirus’ spread. 

That dynamic changed following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, which quickly resulted in thousands taking to the streets. First in Minnesota, then in every state in the U.S. and many places around the world, communities rallied to protest police violence against Black Americans and systemic racism more broadly. 

Of course, the year is still young(-ish) and 2020 is nothing if not full of surprises. If the past few months serve as any indication, there could be many more protests in the months to come. 

Here’s a look at just some of the demonstrations that have defined 2020 so far, in reverse chronological order. It’s far from comprehensive — Black Lives Matter protests are ongoing — but the demonstrations featured here illustrate how protest evolved in 2020. 

Where we go from here is anyone’s guess.

Minneapolis protests for George Floyd

The Minneapolis protests quickly turned the nation’s attention to the death of George Floyd and police violence against Black Americans more broadly.

Image: Richard Tsong-Taatarii / Star Tribune via Getty Images

Though underpinned by years of organizing, the current wave of protests started in Minneapolis. 

On May 25, a Minneapolis police officer named Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, killing Floyd while he cried out for help and that he couldn’t breathe. The four officers involved in Floyd’s death were not charged until days later, after video of the killing was released and the protests began. Chauvin was eventually charged with second degree murder, despite the Floyd family’s demand for a first degree murder charge. 

The horrific killing led to waves of protest against racial injustice, with many in Minneapolis taking to the streets to demand justice for Floyd and to call for defunding the Minneapolis Police Department to expand investment in community-led safety strategies. 

On June 26, the Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to dismantle the police department, a first step in a complicated, bureaucratic process. Additionally, the Minneapolis Board of Education voted unanimously to end its contract with the police department in the city. 

Cities across the country were staging similar protests soon after Floyd’s death. These rallies also brought attention to the recent police killings of other Black Americans, like Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Elijah McClain, and Tony McDade. In just a few weeks, it seemed, a civil rights movement had begun for a new generation

Black trans lives matter protests 

Protests against racial injustice have increasingly focused on the specific threat of violence faced by Black trans women.

Protests against racial injustice have increasingly focused on the specific threat of violence faced by Black trans women.

Image: Michael Noble Jr. / Getty Images

As these protests spread across the country, organizers worked to center the stories of Black women, specifically Black trans women. (The rate at which Black trans women are killed in the U.S. has been dubbed an “epidemic” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. HRC’s 2019 report found that all but one of the 22 trans or gender non-conforming people killed in the U.S. that year were Black.)

In response to killings of Black trans women like Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells and Riah Milton, a visually striking protest arose in Brooklyn, New York — a sea of protesters dressed in white converged on the Brooklyn Museum on June 14. 

Global protests for racial justice 

People around the world held protests in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S.

People around the world held protests in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S.

Image: Abdulmonam Eassa / Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Protests in support of the U.S. Black Lives Matter movement spread swiftly around the world, with people taking to the streets in Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, London, and Seoul, among other cities. Many incorporated their country’s specific needs for progress, particularly in the context of colonial legacies. 

In Brussels, Belgium, for instance, protesters defaced and set fire to a statue of King Leopold II, who oversaw the violent colonization of the Congo. Similarly, protesters in Bristol, England, toppled a statue of Edward Colston, a 17th-century slave trader, and threw it in the harbor.

Juneteenth protests

2020 saw more widespread support  for Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day.

2020 saw more widespread support  for Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day.

Image: Robert Nickelsberg / Getty Images

, an annual holiday marking the day in 1865 when news that slavery had been abolished finally reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, has been marked with celebrations for over a century. This year, though, awareness of the holiday was especially high, as people across the country  on Juneteenth in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

There were Juneteenth protests in major regions like New York, D.C., Los Angeles, and Atlanta. In Washington, D.C., protesters gathered at iconic American landmarks like the Lincoln Memorial, Freedom Plaza, and the White House. Later that day, protesters in D.C. toppled a statue of Albert Pike, a Confederate general, ultimately setting it on fire. 

#IRunWithMaud

Demonstrations for Ahmaud Arbery, in some cases, involved private runs, while others ran collectively.

Demonstrations for Ahmaud Arbery, in some cases, involved private runs, while others ran collectively.

Image: Paras Griffin / Getty Images

On May 8, runners organized a unique demonstration to honor the life of Ahmaud Arbery. Protesters around the country ran 2.23 miles, marking the date of Arbery’s killing. On Feb. 23, Arbery, who was Black, was stalked and fatally shot by white men in a truck while on a run in Georgia.

Those who participated used the hashtag  to raise awareness of Arbery’s case, while also calling attention to a petition , which currently calls for charges to be brought against Glynn County Police Officer Robert Rash, as about his communications related to one of Arbery’s killers came to light.

In Georgia, where Arbery lived, on May 8, which would have been his 26th birthday. Hundreds gathered outside the Glynn County Courthouse to protest in Arbery’s case. His killers were not indicted , nearly four months after Arbery’s death, after recorded video was released and sparked outrage.

 

Anti-lockdown protests

At anti-lockdown protests, some protesters were heavily armed, but faced little police pushback.

At anti-lockdown protests, some protesters were heavily armed, but faced little police pushback.

Image: KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP via Getty Images

In late April and early May, after cities across the U.S. adopted social distancing measures, small protests emerged in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Virginia, and Michigan. Groups of conservative activists gathered at their respective state capitols to protest stay-at-home orders, and called for businesses to re-open. 

The protesters eschewed guidance from medical experts recommending social distancing and face coverings, and demanded businesses be allowed to open despite the public health emergency and experts’ recommendations.

The small gatherings were notable, though, for the lack of police response. In Madison, Wisconsin, for instance, some of the (primarily white) protesters were armed as they stormed Wisconsin’s capitol building. Yet Wisconsin Capitol Police said no arrests or citations were issued.

This stood in stark contrast to the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by Floyd’s killing, in which police aggression and violence gravely endangered (and in some cases permanently harmed) many unarmed protesters. At Black Lives Matter protests in Los Angeles and Atlanta in late May and early June, for instance, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, using extreme force on protests which were primarily peaceful. 

Virtual Day of Silence

With schools closed due to the coronavirus, the Day of Silence, an annual student-led demonstration for LGBTQ representation, had to move online. Typically, LGBTQ students and allies vow not to speak for the entirety of a school day to demonstrate the erasure of LGBTQ students in school curricula. (Some states, such as Texas and Alabama, restrict or prohibit the discussion of LGBTQ issues in the classroom.) 

Though difficult to replicate online, GLSEN, the LGBTQ advocacy organization that has organized the demonstration since the 1990s, encouraged supporters to post on social media using graphics and templates that outline statistics about LGBTQ erasure in schools, in order to continue to raise awareness even while socially distant. 

Virtual climate strikes

Youth climate activists like Greta Thunberg called for school climate strikes, which have gained momentum and widespread exposure in the last few years, to be moved online amid the pandemic starting in early March.

Typically, students participating in the strikes skip school on Fridays in their respective cities. These strikes have continued regularly throughout the period of social distancing, however, with youth around the world posting pictures of their protest signs on social media on designated days. The virtual protests are an effort to keep their longstanding demands in the spotlight. 

International Women’s Day

International Women's Day protesters in Istanbul were fired at with teargas by riot police.

International Women’s Day protesters in Istanbul were fired at with teargas by riot police.

Image: Diego Cupolo / NurPhoto via Getty Images

International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8, often includes celebrations and protests about critical issues, like gender inequality and gender-based violence. This year, as usual, the protests took place all over the world: In Chile, Mexico, Pakistan, Paris, Turkey, and the Philippines, among other cities.

Some were met with pushback from authorities and regular citizens. The Turkish government, for instance, banned gathering for the holiday. Thousands of people in Istanbul proceeded despite the ban and riot police fired on them with tear gas. In Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishek, police detained around 50 protesters, primarily women, after a group of masked men attacked them, tearing apart banners, during the protest, according to Reuters. According to Human Rights Watch, the police did not inform the protesters of the basis for their detention, nor did they provide them with access to lawyers. 

New Year’s Day protests in Hong Kong

Many people were detained during the protests.

Many people were detained during the protests.

Image: ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP via Getty Images

At the very start of the year, protesters in Hong Kong rallied as part of an ongoing fight for democracy. The movement in Hong Kong was initially spurred by a (now-withdrawn) bill proposed in mid 2019 that would have allowed Hong Kong to extradite criminal suspects to China for trial. The January 1 protest carried the movement into 2020. 

According to reports from the protest, riot police fired tear gas into crowds after some protesters threw objects at officers who had arrested people for alleged vandalization, according to the Guardian. Authorities demanded organizers call off the march, though large crowds stayed, leading to hundreds of arrests. 

Of course, January 1 feels like a lifetime ago. Since then, Beijing announced intentions to push through significant national security laws in Hong Kong, one of its most assertive attempts to exercise control over the special administrative region. Among other changes, the proposed law aimed to permit mainland Chinese security services to operate in Hong Kong, and grant Beijing power to override local laws. It led to thwarted rallies and increased fears of surveillance and arrest, while people continued to take to the streets. 

On June 30, the national security law took effect. It’s worded in a way that grants authorities significant leeway in interpretation, according to activists. Hong Kong police have since made their first arrests under the new rules. At a protest against the legislation on July 1, 300 people were arrested, nine due to violations of the national security law, according to the police.





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