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mahatmakanejeeves

(56,885 posts)
Sun Jul 5, 2020, 06:49 AM Jul 2020

On July 4, A Combustible Mix Of Trump Supporters And Black Lives Matter Protesters Converge In D.C.

JUL 4, 3:22 PM

On July 4, A Combustible Mix Of Trump Supporters And Black Lives Matter Protesters Converge In D.C.

Rachel Sadon | Daniella Cheslow | Jenny Gathright | Elliot C. Williams | Debbie Truong | Martin Austermuhle, WAMU

This story was last updated on July 5 at 4:12 a.m.

D.C. marinated in broiler-like temperatures and soupy humidity. Firecrackers sparkled over the National Mall and boomed over residential neighborhoods. And, well, pretty much everything else was different on July 4, 2020. ... The usual parades and concerts were nowhere to be found, replaced by demonstrations against racism and police brutality. At the front of one march, protesters carried a sign that asked: “What does freedom really look like?”

Speaking on 15th Street NW near the White House, Aliyah Graves-Brown said this year, in particular, has involved a reckoning. ... “On this July 4, in particular, we’re realizing that the Fourth of July, in fact, has nothing to do with freedom and everything to do with celebrating white supremacy and the independence of a certain group of people,” the 25-year-old D.C. resident said. “This day is a reminder of, for people who look like us at least, our lack of freedom.”

And while the fireworks went on per usual, far fewer people headed to the National Mall or other popular spots than a typical year, as many appeared to heed the advice of local officials to stay home amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. ... “I was surprised at how dead the streets were. There’s hardly anyone out and about other than the Fourth of July,” said Jenny Cudd, a 36-year-old who flew in from Midland-Odessa, Texas to enthusiastically celebrate the holiday. ... Bedecked in a Trump shirt, Trump 2020 earrings, and a Make America Great Again hat, Cudd was among the biggest crowd of the president’s supporters that this city has seen in months. ... “I’m really glad the president decided to overrule the local mayor who wanted to shut down the Independence Day celebration because we the people own the federal parks,” she said.

Shortly before the fireworks began, the confluence of Trump backers and demonstrators against police brutality made for a brief but cinematic confrontation at the Washington Monument. ... Individuals on both sides got into heated, pointed confrontations—some of them physical—with one another as a chorus of competing chants of “U.S.A., U.S.A.” and “Black lives matter” broke out. ... U.S. Park Police arrived within minutes, and dozens of officers fanned out to separate the groups. As they moved Trump supporters to one side and Black Lives Matter protesters to another, fireworks exploded overhead, and quick flashes of red, white, and blue glinted off riot shields.

It was as fitting an image of July 4, 2020 as they come.

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On July 4, A Combustible Mix Of Trump Supporters And Black Lives Matter Protesters Converge In D.C. (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Jul 2020 OP
Good. Thanks. elleng Jul 2020 #1
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