Overview
The confluence of pandemic-fueled restlessness and the shocking deaths of a succession of Black Americans by police, many captured on video, galvanized protests across the nation and the world in 2020. In the United States, police violence is a leading cause of death of young Black men — on average, unarmed Blacks are 3.5 times more likely to be shot by police than are unarmed whites. This is not a new problem, but in 2020 Americans of ages, races and ethnicities took to the streets by the tens of thousands to demand police reforms, greater accountability and transparency, and a transformation in the relationship between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.
