The death of George Floyd – a 46-year-old Black man – on May 25 in Minneapolis, U.S. as he was being detained by four police officers sparked fury across the United States, but has also proven to be the catalyst for anti-racism movements around the world.
The shocking killing that was captured on video and shared widely on social media has galvanized millions of people into taking action, with protesters filling the streets and taking to social media.
Demonstrations against police brutality have grown into calls for equality in society, with the anti-racism movement largely unifying behind the ‘Black Lives Matter’ message that has now spread across the globe.
Agora, a photography app company that compiles photographs submitted by its users – both amateur and professional – and that runs photography awards to showcase the best submissions has released a series of images taken during the Black Lives Matter movement as part of the company’s own #StopRacism campaign.
The 48 images have been voted as the best by the app’s users, and as those that best reflect the message of the campaign. The $1000 reward for the contest’s most-voted-for photograph will instead be donated equally to the Black Lives Matter, The Bail Project, NAACP, and @reclaimtheblock organizations, the company said in a statement.
‘We felt the need to play our part and provide a visual platform for the voices speaking out against racial injustice,’ the statement said,’ the statement read. ‘[The] finalist and winning photos … constitute a visual manifesto for change and continue to give importance and space to amplify the message of racialised communities, combat racial injustice, and educate people around the world.’
‘I can’t breathe’ by Kenyan photographer Onyango Dennis (@onyangodennis) was the overall winner, receiving the most number of votes from the community.
‘I can’t breathe’ by Kenyan photographer Onyango Dennis (@onyangodennis) – pictured – was the overall winner of the competition run by Agora receiving the most number of votes from the community
Left: A woman holds up a sign that reads ‘If you’re tired of hearing about racism imagine how tired people are of experiencing it’ at a Black Lives Matter protest. Right: Two women at a Black Lives matter march hold signs, one of which reads ‘I can’t breathe’
Signs made by anti-racism protesters, with messages including ‘Black Lives Matter’, ‘Love not hate makes America great’ and ‘Defund the police’ lie on the ground and are propped against a wall in the U.S.
Pictured: A woman wearing a mask holds a Black Lives Matter sign at protests in Madrid, Spain
Left: ‘I am not black, but I stand with you’ is one of the messages on this person’s sign at Black Lives Matter protests in Canada. Right: A man holds a sign that reads ‘Black and proud’ while holding his fist in the air at protests in Spain
Left: Two woman of different colours embrace in a photograph called ‘The Human Race is the only Race that should exist.’ Right: Two woman, hands clasped together, raise their hands in the air
Pictured: Two black men – one of which is albino – sit together in a photograph with the title ‘Bond’
Left: A woman with what looks like the skin condition Vitiligo and a man put their foreheads together in a photograph titled ‘The love we give’. Right: Peaceful protesters gather in front of the Mission Police Department. One man wears a jacket with a picture of George Floyd’s face on the back
Pictured: A proud couple holds their newborn baby in a photograph titled ‘When cultures come together’
Pictured: A group of women out protesting hold placards with messages that include ‘silence implies consent’, ‘Justice 4 all’ and Demand integrity and care
Pictured: Two boys – one white and one black – play the drums together
Pictured: A nurse joins protesters in marching down the street with a sign that reads ‘let empathy be your new normal’
Pictured: A black man covered in pink paint puts his arm around a younger smiling white white boy at the beach
Pictured: A group of people in Spain gather together to join the Black Lives Matter protests
Left: A group of children pose for a photograph titled ‘On ne naît pas raciste, on le devient’, which translated from French to mean ‘We are not born racist, we become one’. Right: Protestors in Germany join the Black Lives Matter protests, holding signs that read ‘We are one human race’ and ‘Racism is not over but I’m over racism’
Left: Pictured: Protesters in San Diego, U.S. join the Black Lives Matter march. Right: Protesters in Rotterdam, The Netherlands join the Black Lives Matter march
Pictured: A young black woman takes a moment to herself in a photograph titled ‘Somber’
Pictured: A group of women wearing masks join the Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. One holds a sign that reads ‘White Silence = Violence’
Pictured: A police officer in the U.S. takes a knee, an act that has become to be a sign of solidarity with the black community and protest against police brutality
Left: A man holds his hand up tot the camera in a photograph titled ‘Stop racism’. Right: Two people – black and white – hold hands in a photograph titled ‘friendship’
Left: A young boy raises his first in the air, a symbol recognised as one of solidarity with oppressed people popularised by the Black Power movement. Right: A black man holds the hands of a white person to his shoulders in a photograph titled ‘Humans’
Pictured: Protesters march in the USA. One holds up a sign that reads ‘Black people have every right to burn down a country they built for free’
Pictured: A man in Bolivia holds a sign that reads ‘No al racismo – no al golpe de estado – no al auto nombramiento.’ The sign translates to ‘no to racism – no to the coup – no to the self appointment’
Pictured: A black man smiles at the camera in in Spain
Pictured: Two men rest their heads on eachother’s shoulders while standing among the surf in Ghana
Pictured: Two young girls – one black and one white – hold hands and grin at eachother in a photograph titled ‘Amigas’ in Spain
Left: A mixed race family in France post for a photograph titled ‘Love has no borders’. Right: A black woman and man clasp hands and bow their heads in a photograph titled ‘Together we are stronger together’
Left: Pictured: A young boy at a Black Lives Matter protest holds a sign that reads ‘George Floyd was my: Brother, Cousin, Uncle, Father, Friend, Co-Worker, Neighbor’. Right: People in Germany take part in a Black Lives Matter protest. One person holds a sign that reads ‘Mensch = Mensch’ which translates to ‘Human = Human’
Pictured: A black woman wearing face paint, a headscarf and an apron poses for a photograph titled ‘Be yourself’
Pictured: Three black men in Ghana wearing traditional tribal clothes hold up a flag together in a photograph titled ‘Bond’
Left: Two people hold hands in a photograph titled ‘stop racism’. Right: A young woman wearing a traditional Parsi dress holds up a sign that reads ‘Black Lives Matter
Pictured: A woman holds a sign that reads ‘silence = violence’ at a Black Lives Matter protest in the UK
Pictured: Two people in the U.S. join a Black Lives Matter protest holding signs, one reading ‘Justice for all black lives lost to police brutality’ and another that reads ‘privilege is when you think it is not a problem cause u aren’t affected’ (sic)
Pictured: A woman speaks to a crowd of people during a Black Lives Matter protest
Left: A group of people wearing masks join a Black Live Matter protest. Right: A man wearing tribal face paint at a Black Lives Matter march holds a sign that reads ‘enough is enough’