During the past week or so there have been countless protests almost all over America. Some were orderly and peaceful while some were violent and ugly. Hundreds of people have been arrested and a lot of economic damage done.
This follows the killing of a black man George Floyd by a white police officer, an occurrence which has become all too frequent in that country. The racial discrimination, which has been a hot topic since the civil rights movement began, is still raging today.
Many black people in the United States of America still have misgivings when they are to step out of their homes either to work or for any other purpose. It has become quite frequent to hear of a story where a black man is shot dead by police just because they happen to be black.
A perception has therefore emerged that if you are black in America you are more likely to be gunned down than any other person. This has the tendency of causing a lot of mistrust between and among people in a country.
Again the killing of George Floyd has brought back the ugly scene of riots and protests during the early to late sixties when black people got up to fight for recognition and equality.
Protests have turned violent and the police are struggling to maintain calm in many of the cities and towns in America. Even in front of the White House protesters gathered to send their message. The president is said to have made some provocative tweets about it which did not go down well.
It is unfortunate that a Gambians national seems to have been caught up in that same situation where he was said to have been shot dead by police officers. Many governments around the world have condemned the violence and it is hoped that the Government of the Gambia will also issue a statement to condemn this issue.
