U.S. Attorney General William Barr denied that law enforcement is systematically racist and Mayor Bill de Blasio canceled New York’s curfew Sunday following a day when cities across the nation saw massive, peaceful demonstrations against racism and police brutality. 

“We are lifting the curfew, effective immediately,” de Blasio tweeted Sunday. “Yesterday and last night we saw the very best of our city.”

In Washington, thousands of protesters marched downtown Saturday for the ninth – and by far the largest – day of demonstrations demanding justice for black victims of police misconduct. Half a dozen Secret Services agents engaged protesters outside the U.S. Treasury building. “Do you want an all-white police force?” asked one black officer. “When I take this uniform off, I’m still black.” 

In Minneapolis, a crowd of demonstrators booed Mayor Jacob Frey after he refused to say he was in favor of abolishing the city’s police department. 

The protests began after the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, the African American man who succumbed after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The latest in a series of memorial services for Floyd is Monday in Houston. His remains will be buried there Tuesday.

Some recent developments:

Barr: Justice system not systematically racist; no need to tap Insurrection Act

Racism remains an issue in the U.S., but the nation’s justice system is not systematically racist, Attorney General William Barr said Sunday. Barr, speaking on “Face the Nation,” said that “instances” of bad cops do not mean the entire “organization is rotten.” He also said he understands the distrust in the African American community.

“I think we have to realize that for most of our history our institutions were explicitly racist,” Barr said. “Since the 1960s we have been in a phase of reforming our institutions and making sure they are in sync with our laws.”

Barr also acknowledged that invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy military troops on American streets was considered. He, President Donald Trump and other administration officials were “on the same page” in determining that military troops would be deployed only “as a last resort and that we didn’t think we would need them.”

NYC drops curfew, prepares to being reopening after COVID lockdown

New York City’s first curfew since in more than a half century was lifted a day early Sunday, hours after thousands of protesters across the city peacefully marched and chanted for an end to racial injustice. Mayor Bill de Blasio was under intense pressure to end the nightly curfew, imposed after looting broke out early last week. The 8 p.m. curfew had been scheduled to continue at until 5 a.m. Monday  – also the day the city begins Phase One of its reopening plan. Construction and other manufacturing-type facilities will be operational for the first time since being shuttered March 22.

“Tomorrow we take the first big step to restart,” de Blasio tweeted. “Keep staying safe. Keep looking out for each other.”

Residents of smaller cities and towns join chorus for change

Protests in big cities such as New York, Washington and Los Angeles have grabbed the headlines, but residents of smaller cities are also making their voices heard. They may be calm, silent, tumultuous or violent conversations outside U.S. major metros, but they all share something: black citizens driving them who say conditions have not been and are no longer tenable for everyday living.

During a peaceful protest in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a white man confronted a crowd of black men about their “Black Lives Matter” sign: “It should say ‘All Lives Matter!’” The Rev. Joseph Parks was nearby and stepped in. “All of my bones matter. But if my wrist is broken, the only bone that matters at that moment is the one that’s broken.”

– Dustin Wyatt, Spartanburg Herald-Journal 

Top editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer out amid headline controversy

Stan Wischnowski, the top editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, has announced his resignation amid fallout from a controversial headline about the impact of the recent civil unrest. The headline, “Buildings Matter, Too,” appeared over a column in Tuesday’s newspaper exploring the damage and looting that accompanied some of the nationwide protests over police violence. Wischnowski and other editors later apologized for the headline, describing it as “deeply offensive.” Publisher Lisa Hughes issued a statement saying Wischnowski “decided to step down” as senior vice president and executive editor after 20 years with the Inquirer. 

Iowa football assistant placed on leave amid complaints of racism

Iowa football strength and condition coach Chris Doyle has been placed on administrative leave after dozens of social-media posts from black former athletes described a culture of systemic racism within the Hawkeyes’ football program. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz also announced creation of an advisory committee to address “a call for a cultural shift.” Doyle has been Iowa’s strength and conditioning coach since Ferentz’s first year of 1999.

Ferentz said also has lifted his team’s longstanding ban on social media at the request of players who want to “participate in the national discussion” concerning injustice, racism and inequality.

“There has been a call for a cultural shift in our program,” Ferentz said. 

– Chad Leistikow, Hawk Central

Fox News sorry for graphic linking deaths of black men to stock pricess

Fox News apologized Saturday after showing a graphic depicting the impact of the killings of black men including George Floyd on stock prices. The graph aired on Friday during Fox’s live news coverage and showed positive stock market changes one week after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and the police killings of Michael Brown and George Floyd, who were both unarmed when they lost their lives to white officers. 

“The infographic used on FOX News Channel’s Special Report to illustrate market reactions to historic periods of civil unrest should have never aired on television without full context. We apologize for the insensitivity of the image and take this issue seriously,” the Fox News spokesperson said in the statement. 

– Dalvin Brown

Marines ban display of Confederate flag

The Marines have banned display of the Confederate Battle Flag, saying it is divisive and has “too often been co-opted by violent extremist and racist groups.” The directive orders commanders to the flag or its depiction within work places, common-access areas and public areas on their installations. Posters, bumper stickers, clothing and coffee mugs are specifically called out. The directive and a statement released by the Corps makes reference to “current events” and specifically mentions a 2017 demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in the death of a protester.

“Our history as a nation, and events like the violence in Charlottesville in 2017, highlight the divisiveness the use of the Confederate battle flag has had on our society,” the directive says.

Police, protesters square off in Portland

A clash between Portland police and protesters at the Justice Center overnight resulted in more than 50 arrests. Chief Jami Resch said early Sunday that several thousand people marched peacefully, but that a smaller group of protesters attempted to cut through a security fence and threw balloons full of paint and full beverage cans. Two officers were injured by lit fireworks, she said. 

Protests have taken place daily in the city for more than a week, and police have come under scrutiny for their use of force against demonstrators. The advocacy group Don’t Shoot Portland has filed suit against the city, accusing police of “indiscriminate use” of tear gas. The city’s police oversight panel, the Citizen Review Committee, has issued a statement citing “a troubling pattern of police violence against protesters that interferes with public safety and freedom of speech.”

Survey: Americans’ perceptions of police drop significantly in one week

The perception of police among white Americans has dropped by double digits in just one week, as police have targeted peaceful protesters, bystanders and journalists amid nationwide demonstrations focusing on systemic racism facing black Americans. Perceptions also have declined across all racial groups following the death of George Floyd in police custody, according to a new survey from the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project.

Among white Americans – a group where President Donald Trump saw broad support in the 2016 election – those who have a very favorable or somewhat favorable impression of police officers totaled 61% in the survey conducted May 28 to June 3. That’s down from 72% the previous week, according to an analysis from Nationscape Insights, Democracy Fund, UCLA and USA TODAY. Among black Americans, only 38% view the police very or somewhat favorably. That number dropped 9 percentage points from the previous week.

“These changes were striking,” said Robert Griffin, research director for the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group. At a time when so much in American politics feels deadlocked, this is the kind of major event that can reshape how Americans think.” 

– Rebecca Morin

More on protests, George Floyd:

Police announce arrests, investigations of officers

Multiple police departments have announced investigations and arrests tied to allegations of officer misconduct. In a high-profile case, two suspended Buffalo, New York, police officers were charged with second-degree assault Saturday amid outcry over video showing police shoving a 75-year-old man to the ground as they cleared an area of demonstrators. Graphic video from the incident showed the man motionless and bleeding from his head. Officials later said he was in stable condition.

Amid the demonstrations Saturday, multiple other police departments announced actions against officers tied to misconduct allegations. In San Diego, police say they are investigating after a Thursday incident captured on video, which appears to show police forcing a protester into an unmarked vehicle. In the video an officer can be heard telling other protesters, “You follow us, you will get shot.”

Meanwhile, local media reports say a Missouri officer has been suspended after allegedly hitting a person with his vehicle, and a white Virginia officer is facing assault charges for his use of a stun gun on a black man in a recent domestic call.

Second Floyd memorial held in North Carolina

George Floyd’s death while in police custody sparked “a movement” nationwide, his eulogist said, as hundreds of mourners gathered Saturday in Raeford, North Carolina, to mourn his death while in police custody. The memorial was held inside a church just outside Fayetteville, North Carolina, where Floyd was born. Before the service, the 46-year-old’s body was placed in the center of the lobby, where mourners from the public were allowed in groups of 10.

Rev. Christopher D. Stackhouse delivered a stirring eulogy about Floyd, noting “there was something different about that day” he died under police custody in Minneapolis.

“A movement is happening today, and George Floyd sparked that fuel,” Stackhouse said. “He sparked the fuel that is going to change this nation.”

– Ken Alltucker, Melody Brown-Peyton, Michael Futch, Rachael Riley

Contributing: The Associated Press

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