In pictures: A racial reckoning in America
Protesters march in the street during a demonstration in Minneapolis on June 25.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

In pictures: A racial reckoning in America

Updated 0135 GMT (0935 HKT) July 10, 2020

Protesters march in the street during a demonstration in Minneapolis on June 25.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Protesters have been rallying across the United States since the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis.

Anger poured through communities as video of Floyd's last moments began circulating in May. Floyd was pleading for help as he was pinned down, saying he couldn't breathe.

The incident recalls the 2014 death of Eric Garner, who uttered the words "I can't breathe" while in an officer's chokehold in New York. Since Garner's death, the phrase has become a rallying cry in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Floyd's death has reignited a national conversation about race, police brutality and social injustice. There have been calls to defund the police, and protesters have been tearing down statues of men who once championed or traded in slavery.

The demonstrations have been largely peaceful, but some cities have seen instances of violence, with protesters clashing with police and stores being looted and burned.

In Atlanta, weeks after Floyd's death, protesters set fire to a fast-food restaurant where police fatally shot Rayshard Brooks on June 12. Brooks' shooting led to a police officer being fired and the police chief resigning.