Wed 10 June 2020:
Floyd’s death, after an officer who has now been charged with second-degree murder knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, has triggered a US-wide debate on the future of law enforcement.
A statue of Christopher Columbus in Richmond was torn down by protesters, set on fire and then thrown into a lake.
The Columbus statue in Byrd Park was dumped in Fountain Lake tonight, reports @ardzes.https://t.co/0FzwsCqmz7
— VPM (@myVPM) June 10, 2020
The figure was toppled less than two hours after protesters gathered in the city’s Byrd Park were chanting for the statue to be taken down, news outlets reported.
After the figure was removed from its pedestal by protesters using several ropes, a sign that reads, “Columbus represents genocide” was placed on the spray-painted foundation that once held the statue.
Dictionary Merriam-Webster to change its definition of racism
The American reference dictionary Merriam-Webster will change its definition of the word racism at the suggestion of a young black woman, who wanted it to better reflect the oppression of people of color.
Kennedy Mitchum, a recent graduate of Drake University in Iowa, contacted Merriam-Webster, which has published its dictionaries since 1847, to propose updating the term.
“I basically told them that they need to include that there’s a systematic oppression upon a group of people,” she told the local CBS affiliate KMOV. “It’s not just, ‘Oh, I don’t like someone.'”
Merriam-Webster’s editorial manager Peter Sokolowski confirmed to AFP that the definition would be modified after Mitchum’s request.
Tennis-Osaka in no mood to back down on support for Black Lives Matter
Naomi Osaka, the world’s highest paid sportswoman, says the voices of prominent athletes can be more influential than those of politicians and is determined that hers will be heard on the subject of racial injustice.
The two-times Grand Slam champion has faced a backlash on social media after throwing her support behind the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the death of Floyd.
“I’m vocal because I believe in the movement and want to try to use my platform to facilitate change,” Osaka told Reuters via email. “Being silent is never the answer. Everyone should have a voice in the matter and use it.”
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