Student journalist records outrage over death of George Floyd by Minneapolis, Min. police

Senior Carly Liggett attended the demonstration at Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza on May 31.

Carly Liggett, Photographer|June 3, 2020

Carly Liggett

A young woman holds a Black Lives Matter sign with the names of black men and women killed by police officers in the United States. She was participating in a March for Justice on May 31 in Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza. The demonstration began peacefully but escalated to violence and looting. Police attempted to disperse the crowd with pepper spray, rubber bullets and tear gas.

Demonstrations rocked most major cities in the United States following the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes. Floyd’s death was recorded by bystanders.

The widely circulated video shows Floyd gasping for breath, asking the officers for help and calling for his mother. Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck after he became unconscious and as emergency medical personnel arrived.

The demonstrations in Minneapolis began on May 26 and were initially peaceful. Like the events across Kansas City and the rest of the country, calm marches for justice turned violent, resulting in property damage.

Events in honor of George Floyd began in Kansas City on Friday, May 29 and continued through several days. By Saturday evening, crowds in the thousands gathered at JC Nichol’s fountain and spread around the Country Club Plaza, Westport and Crown Center area. Plaza stores have been closed since Sunday.

Senior Carly Liggett attended the March for Justice on May 31 with her camera in an effort to capture the historic support for the Black Lives Movement to share with the students of BV West.