The story we're not seeing: 32 images that show the "other side" of the US protests.

by Jessie Stephens June 3, 2020

Fires. Looting. Tear gas. Rubber bullets. Stun grenades. More than four thousand people arrested. The National Guard deployed. At least five people dead.

That is a snapshot of the protests spreading across the United States right now.

They come in response to the death of 46-year-old George Floyd who was killed while in police custody. After being arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit bill, Floyd was restrained with force by a white police officer who pressed his knee against his neck. Floyd repeated the words “I can’t breathe” at least a dozen times before falling unconscious. He died later in hospital.

Watch: In Flint, Michigan, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson put down his baton and joined protesters in a peaceful march. Post continues below.

While the protests are a reaction to the death of Floyd, they are more broadly about the violence inflicted on black communities by police and vigilantes. The Black Lives Matter movement was founded in 2013 and has been an ongoing protest against racially motivated violence, which has a long history in the United States ( and here too).

Peaceful protests first broke out in Minneapolis eight nights ago, with tens of thousands of people marching through the streets. Since then, tensions have escalated, with more than 30 protests erupting across the US. At least 12 states have activated their National Guards, with buildings and police cars set on fire.

And while that is part of the story, it is not the whole story.

The vast majority of protesters are peaceful. Photos and videos are emerging online of moments of solidarity between protesters and police, silence as civilians remember those who have died, police handing out bottled water and passersby issuing hand sanitiser to all those demonstrating.

What photographs of burning buildings and tear gas don’t show us is the humanity at the heart of these protests. They are not senseless riots, but an outpouring of grief, a demonstration by the American people demanding a better future.

Here are 31 photographs and videos from the past few days across the United States, showing the other side of the protests.

Applauds & cheers as #Portland riot cops kneel in solidarity with anti-police-brutality protesters

— RT (@RT_com) June 1, 2020

POWERFUL. The Lexington Police just kneeled after the protesters asked them to kneel. pic.twitter.com/JZIVWuSpZx

— Alex Walker (@AlexWalkerTV) June 1, 2020

Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen embraces a woman as he marches with thousands of protesters during the fifth consecutive day of demonstrations in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd on June 1, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. Image: Getty.

Protesters and Chief of the Department of NYPD, Terence Monahan show their solidarity in Washington Square Park during a demonstration in response to the death of a Minneapolis man George Floyd. Image: Getty.

A police officer in Seattle sits with protesters over the weekend.

A policeman in Seattle sits with protesters. Image via Getty.

Kansas City, MO pic.twitter.com/EXZ5FuciP8

— Cambelle Parker (@cambelle_parker) May 31, 2020

He got separated from his squad, and they protected him. POWERFUL

Don’t let the media divide us ???? #BLM #EnoughIsEnough #protests pic.twitter.com/3nfRH9kgJS

— Maria Garibay (@mariagaribay_) May 30, 2020

Police kneel in Miami. "As leaders of this profession, we (Chiefs and Community) must all do better at improving on our training and protocols so that our efforts towards building and maintaining community trust are not lost or overshadowed," Miami-Dade Corrections spokesman Juan Diasgranados said.