3 facts that explain why protesters in the USA are dissatisfied: rallies against racism began in Europe

A wave of protests and clashes swept the United States over the murder by police in Minnesota of an African American George Floyd. Edition with the BBC examined crime and justice data in the United States to get an idea of ​​the situation of African Americans when faced with law enforcement.

Photo: Shutterstock

1. African Americans are more likely to die at the hands of the police

According to statistics on police shootings and killings, African Americans are disproportionately shot compared to their percentage of the overall U.S. demographic.

For example, in 2019, African Americans accounted for more than 23% of the approximately 14 incidents in which police killed a suspect. Moreover, according to official census data, blacks in the United States make up only less than XNUMX% of the population.

The percentage of deaths at the hands of African-American police officers has not changed since 2017, while the number of white victims has declined.

2. African Americans are more often arrested for drugs

Compared to whites, African Americans are much more likely to be arrested for drug offenses. At the same time, the polls show that both the black and the white population use them equally.

In 2018, about 100 of every 750 African Americans were arrested for drug offenses, compared with 350 arrests for every 100 white Americans.

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Previous nationwide drug use surveys show that whites use drugs as often as African Americans, but the latter are much more likely to be arrested.

For example, a study conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union showed that African Americans are 3,7 times more likely to be arrested for using marijuana than their white fellow citizens, although the popularity of this drug is approximately the same.

3. More African Americans Go to Jail

According to the latest data, African Americans find themselves behind bars five times more often than white Americans, and two times more often than Latinos.

In 2018, African Americans made up about 13% of the total U.S. population, but more than 30% of prisoners.

White Americans made up about 30% of all American prison inmates, despite the fact that their share of the United States population is more than 60%.

In other words, for every 100 thousand African Americans, there are about a thousand prisoners, while among white US citizens, only about 200 people per 100 thousand inhabitants are in prison.

When counting the number of prisoners in the United States, those who are sentenced to more than one year of imprisonment in a federal prison or state penitentiary are counted.

Over the past ten years, the number of prison sentences imposed on African Americans has declined, but there are still more prisoners than members of any other race.

Protests spread to France, Germany and other countries

Protests went beyond the United States. The French publication Le Figaro writes about protests against racism in Paris, in which about 15 thousand people took part, writes with the BBC.

Near the building of one of the courts in Paris, a rally in memory of the 24-year-old black Frenchman Adam Traor, who died after being arrested in 2016.

Clashes broke out between some protesters and tear gas police. Protesters also blocked a section of the Paris Ring Road near the venue.

In recent days, protests have also taken place in the UK, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Germany.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• The protest was in memory of George Floyd, an African American from Minneapolis who died after a Minneapolis police officer strangled him with a knee. Officer Derek Chauvin was fired and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter; three other officers also lost their jobs. Protests and riots subsequently eruptedand in Minneapolis and across the country.
• The Minnesota state governor said protests over the death of African-American George Floyd, spanning dozens of US cities, are already not related to murder, but provoked by visiting radicals.
• Protests in Minneapolis sharply intensified in the evening of May 27when city police took action in response to looted and burned shops in the city, as well as fatal shooting at a protest venue.
• May 31 truck drove into a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis (Minnesota). At the wheel of a car was a citizen of the United States, presumably of Ukrainian origin, Bogdan Vechirko. He was arrested, but on June 2 released from custody awaiting further investigation.
• About 40 cities, including Los Angeles, Miami, Detroit, and Philadelphia, banned street demonstrations after dark. Texas and Virginia Governors introduced a state of emergency.
• In connection with protests in US cities embassies of Ukraine and Russia asked their citizenslocated in the United States, maintain order and avoid crowds wherever possible and comply with security measures.
• June 1, Donald Trump enacted the law of 1807, allowing him send riot troops in connection with the death of George Floyd.
• According to the official autopsy of George Floyd, his death was caused by mechanical asphyxia and should be considered violent.

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