Over the past two weeks, people across the US have defied pleas to stay home amid

the COVID-19 pandemic, to protest police violence against black people in America.

The protests began in Minneapolis. That's where a since-fired police officer named Derek

Chauvin was charged last week with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

After pinning George Floyd down with a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes, Chauvin's

murder charge has since been elevated to second-degree murder, and three other officers were charged

with aiding and abetting murder.

They were also protests in Louisville in response to the death of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor,

who was killed in March when police broke into her home as part of a drug raid.

But according to the family's lawsuit, no drugs were found at the scene, and the person

that the officers were seeking was already apprehended. The FBI is now investigating Taylor's

death.

The protests against police brutality have since spread to all 50 states across the US, as

well as around the world in places like London, Berlin, and Copenhagen, where demonstrations

are taking place in solidarity.

We are now months into a pandemic that's highlighting the extent to which black people

have suffered from inequality in the US for hundreds of years.

Black Americans are dying at a disproportionate rate from COVID-19 compared to white people.

The unemployment rate for black Americans is higher than the national unemployment rate.

And now, a series of deaths at the hands of police officers and others these past few

months have once again spurred people into the streets.

Many of those protests have been peaceful. Some of those protests have turned violent and

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