Protests came as Atlanta’s police chief resigned in the wake of another killing of a black man at the hands of police.
Protesters around the country took to the streets Saturday for the third straight weekend of demonstrations as national tensions over race and police brutality evolved to include actions in the suburbs and a few counter-protests aimed at defending law enforcement.
While the protests were largely peaceful and many were smaller in size than previous weekends, they took on a new flavor as several groups gathered to voice their solidarity with police and their opposition to activists who have called for law enforcement agencies to be reformed or defunded.
The predominantly white “Blue Lives Matter” and “Back the Blue” protests taking place in cities including Washington and Tampa highlighted the racial tensions that have been amplified since Memorial Day, when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on the neck of an unarmed black man who then died. In some places, Black Lives Matter protesters clashed with the pro-police demonstrators, resulting in shouting matches and other confrontations in the summer heat.
The scenes depicted a nation that continues to grapple with stark divides along racial lines over issues ranging from the proper role of police in society to how best to reckon with a history marred by racism, slavery and oppression of minorities.
In Tampa, a rally to support law enforcement turned contentious Saturday when Black Lives Matter supporters showed up, forcing law enforcement to form a barrier to separate the groups.
When the two groups were face to face, they tried to drown each other out with chanting.
“Black Lives Matter!” the diverse group of protesters shouted.
“Back the Blue!” the pro-police demonstrators chanted in return.
President Trump, who has faced criticism for stoking the nation’s racial tensions during a time of deep division, sought to project a sense of unity during a speech to the graduating class of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point.
“What has historically made America unique is the durability of its institutions against the passions and prejudices of the moment,” Trump said Saturday. “When times are turbulent, when the road is rough, what matters most is that which is permanent, timeless, enduring, and eternal.”
The speech came just hours after Trump announced that he would be rescheduling his first campaign rally in months following criticism that it was set for Juneteenth, the observance of the end of slavery in the United States, in a city that experienced one of the country’s worst episodes of racial violence in U. S. history.
Trump said in a tweet Friday night that he was moving the rally in Tulsa from June 19 to June 20 “out of respect” for the Juneteenth holiday and “all that it represents.”
But Trump, who began Saturday by tweeting a call for “LAW & ORDER,” has continued to play a divisive role amid the national protests over racial injustice. While Trump has expressed sorrow for the death of George Floyd and criticized the Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, he has also celebrated the use of force against peaceful protesters and relied on conspiracy theories to brand demonstrators as terrorists.
Many of the white pro-police demonstrators cast themselves as Trump supporters, waving flags with the president’s name and espousing his views on policing, race and American history.
In Philadelphia, a crowd of about 50 white South Philadelphians gathered in a neighborhood park, surrounding a towering statue of Christopher Columbus — many armed with baseball bats and golf clubs, and one man in army fatigues strapped a rifle to his chest.
