2020 has seen a historic rise in global civil rights protests. Here is a timeline of what has happened so far. 

February 23 

25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery is shot down while jogging in his hometown of Brunswick, GA.

March 13 

Police with a no-knock warrant stormed 26-year-old Breonna Taylor’s apartment in Louisville KY. Taylor was struck at least 8-times and died on the scene.

May 7 

2 months after Ahmaud Arbery was murdered the perpetrators, a father and son – Gregory and Travis McMichael, are arrested. They are both denied bond.

May 21  

The person who filmed the murder of Arbery, William “Roddie” Bryan, was charged on felony murder and attempt to commit false imprisonment.

May 25 

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, is killed by white police officer, Derek Chauvin, in Minneapolis.

May 26 

Hundreds of people take to the streets in Minneapolis in protest of police brutality and the murder of Floyd.  

Minneapolis Police Department fires all four officers involved in the Floyd murder.

May 27 

Protests intensify, including fires, property damage, reappropriation of store goods, and spread across the country.

May 28

International protests begin.

Minneapolis Mayor requests deployment of the National Guard, the request is granted.

May 29

Officer Derek Chauvin is charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the death of Floyd.

May 30 

First protest in Jacksonville connected to the Floyd murder. Thousands of people turned out for the demonstration, 79 people were arrested. Some property damage was incurred.

May 31

White House goes into lockdown mode and reports emerge that Trump is taken to a secure bunker. He later alleges it was for ‘inspection.’

June 1

President Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 to deploy the military into cities protesting.

Peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square dispersed with tear gas and rubber bullets for a presidential photo op at St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Multiple autopsies confirm the cause of Floyd’s death was asphyxiation due to neck and back compression by police.

June 2

Minneapolis Public Schools terminates contract with Minneapolis PD.

Between May 26 and today 148 journalists were arrested covering the protests. This is the known number recorded by The Guardian and Bellingcat, the true total could be higher. 

Peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square dispersed with tear gas and rubber bullets for a presidential photo op at St. John’s Episcopal Church.

June 3

Senate Bill 217 introduced ‘concerning measures to enhance law enforcement integrity’

Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcetti, announces plans to ‘slash LAPD budget’ by $100-$150 million.

June 4

Demands to ‘defund the police’  gain traction nationwide.

Hundreds gather in Minneapolis for the first of several planned memorial services for Floyd.

June 5 

Jacksonville Jaguars’ and 300 community members, including Mayor Lenny Curry and local rapper Lil Duval, march downtown. 

Vigils held in several major cities for what would have been Breonna Taylor’s 27th birthday.

NFL players send a video to the league administration calling on them to support black players, saying they will ‘not be silenced’ anymore.

Co-founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian, resigns and urges the board to fill his seat with a person of color. 

June 6

Second weekend of rallies in Jacksonville Fl. Thousands turn out to protest. No civil unrest, no additional property damage incurred. 

NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, released a video saying that the NFL has ‘been on the wrong side of the issue,’ when it comes to NFL players protesting racial inequality. 

June 7

Minneapolis City Council members announce a commitment to disband Minneapolis PD.

Confederate statues start coming down across the globe, some at the hands of protesters others by cities or defenders of the monuments.

June 8 

Thousands of mourners line up to pay respects to Floyd at a memorial service in Houston, Texas, where Floyd grew up. 

Democrats propose new legislation for police reform but stop short of defunding as protesters call for.

NASCAR bans the use of the Confederate flag at all races and events.

June 9

Curry has a confederate monument in Hemming Park removed prior to a planned protest by the local group ‘Take Em Down.’

Funeral service for Floyd is live-streamed.

June 11

“Breonna’s Law” is passed in Louisville. No-knock warrants can no longer be served unless there is “imminent threat of harm or death” and is limited to “offenses including murder, hostage-taking, kidnapping, terrorism, human trafficking, and sexual trafficking,” per the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Top U.S. General apologizes for his role in the controversial Trump photo-op in front of St. John’s Episcopal church. 

Protesters in Seattle establish the “Capital Hill Autonomous Zone.” Occupying several city blocks after police vacated a precinct there. 

After 32 seasons the T.V show “Cops” was canceled, closely followed by “Live PD,” as people are now questioning the way these types of shows impact public perception of police as well as what behaviors are or are not acceptable. 

June 12 

Charges dropped for 48 of the 79 protestors arrested in Jacksonville the weekend of May 30. The District Attorney’s office is still reviewing arrest records and footage for the remaining charges. Those whose charges were dropped were charged with resisting an officer without violence, unlawful assembly, or both.

June 12

Rayshard Brooks shot and killed by a police officer in Atlanta. Officers were responding to a call of a man who fell asleep in a Wendy’s drive-thru. An altercation broke out after Brooks failed a sobriety test and two officers attempted to arrest him. Brooks took one officer’s taser and was running away when he was shot in the back twice.

June 13

The third weekend of rallies in Jacksonville Fl. Thousands of people once again flooded the streets downtown demanding the release of JSO body cam footage and the dropping of all charges for protesters that were arrested at earlier gatherings. 

Wendy’s where Brooks was shot and killed in Atlanta is burned down during protests. $100,000 reward offered to identify the arsonist. 

June 14

18-year old Na’kia Crawford is gunned down in Akron, Ohio. Her family believes it was racially motivated. Details are not yet clear.

June 15
19-year-old Black Lives Matter activist, Oluwatoyin Salau, and 75-year-old AARP volunteer, Victoria Sims are found dead in Tallahassee after being reported missing for several days. The details are still unclear but police have taken 49-year-old Aaron Glee, into custody for both murders. 

N.Y.P.D announces they are disbanding their plainclothes, ‘anti-crime’ units. According to officials this sector was involved in too many questionable fatal shootings and civilian complaints. The officers will be reassigned to other units. 

In a matter of weeks, national protests have had enormous influence. Here are a few key takeaways.

Defunding the Police is now part of a national conversation, three weeks ago this would not have even been at the table. 

Books about anti-racism are flying off the shelves, white people are showing up to learn about racism, understand what it is and how it impacts black and brown people systematically. Check out our list of top suggestions.

According to the New York Times, support for the Black Lives Matter movement increased as much in 2-weeks as it had in the previous 2-years, and multiple polls indicate that the protests have garnered broad, bipartisan support.  

Confederate monuments are coming down. Across the globe, the symbols of a racist history are being toppled after years of protests and petitioning. 

Confederate namesakes are potentially being renamed. Schools and military bases which are named after confederate soldiers and military leaders are in consideration for renaming. 

A spreadsheet for police brutality has been created. Two lawyers created a spreadsheet to log instances of police officers using excessive force. They argue that this resource will aid against the argument of police violence being ‘one-offs’ and show the larger pattern that exists. At the time of this writing, there are 794 entries already.