| Strike for Black Lives | |
|---|---|
| Part ofGeorge Floyd protests,Black Lives Matter, andFight for $15 | |
| Date | July 20, 2020 |
| Location | |
| Methods | Walkout |
TheStrike for Black Lives was a masswalkout that occurred throughout theUnited States on July 20, 2020. Occurring during theGeorge Floyd protests, the main goals of thestrike were to draw attention tosystemic racism andracial inequality in the United States, with additional goals including a raising of theminimum wage in the United States, stronger protections forunionizing, and expandedhealthcare.
Following themurder of George Floyd byMinneapolis police officerDerek Chauvin on May 25, 2020, aseries of protests occurred, initially in theTwin Cities area, but quickly spreading across the United States and worldwide.[1] As part of the widerBlack Lives Matter movement, the protests are rooted in longstanding racial issues in the United States, such aspolice brutality,institutionalized racism, andracial discrimination.[1] The idea for a massstrike was announced onTwitter on July 8 with thehashtag #StrikeForBlackLives.[2] Over 60 groups helped to organize the event and included such groups as theInternational Brotherhood of Teamsters, theAmerican Federation of Teachers, and theUnited Farm Workers.[3][4] TheMovement for Black Lives, a coalition of 150 independent Black Lives Matter groups, was also involved in the organization of the strike.[2] PresidentMary Kay Henry of theService Employees International Union (which was involved in the strike) stated that the strike was an effort to uniteessential workers in the fight for bothracial andeconomic justice.[4] TheAssociated Press compared the strike to theMemphis sanitation strike, which was also caused by both racial and economic issues.[5] According to organizers, the four main points of the strike were:
"Justice for Black communities, that elected officials use their authority to rewrite the rules so that Black people can thrive, that corporations dismantle racism, white supremacy and economic exploitation including at work and that every worker has the opportunity to join a union."[4]
The strike took place during theCOVID-19 pandemic,[4] with African Americans making up a disproportionate percentage of workers impacted by the pandemic and constituting approximately 1 in 4 deaths due to COVID-19.[6]
On July 20, the strike took place in 160 American cities at multiple places of employment.[7] Workers fromMcDonald's andWalmart locations represented a significant portion of the strikers involved.[2] At noon, many strikerskneeled or took amoment of silence foreight minutes 46 seconds in memory of Floyd.[8] In Ferguson, Missouri, protesters marched to a memorial forMichael Brown, who was killed by police in 2014.[8] InNew York City,Senate Minority LeaderChuck Schumer spoke to a crowd of protesters outside ofTrump International Hotel and Tower.[4] Protesters there called for theSenate to pass theHEROES Act.[9] InChicago, protesters met at theJames R. Thompson Center and marched to a nearby McDonald's. InDetroit, a mass work stoppage occurred at severalnursing homes in the area,[10] and aFight for $15 protest was held at the same time as the strike.[3] Protesters inDurham, North Carolina, painted a "BLACK LIVES MATTER" street mural at an intersection indowntown.[11] Multiple politicians from theDemocratic Party expressed support for the strike, including SenatorsKamala Harris,Bernie Sanders, andElizabeth Warren.[4]
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