First 12 days of protests in 12 photos
Looking back one month after the first protest
A man gets pepper-sprayed by police on May 27 during a small impromptu protest over the death of George Floyd. The protest escalated into a series of tense moments with police in Midtown Memphis. This would be the first of 12 straight days and nights of protests across the city. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Devante Hill (center) was one of the first prominent figures to emerge from the protests in Memphis over the death of George Floyd. On May 29, Hill led a peaceful march through Downtown Memphis that included kneeling on Beale Street for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
After spending three straight days participating in the Devante Hill-led marches, a group of protesters who questioned Hill's motivations and possible allegiances with the police split off on their own march. It began on May 31 by blocking traffic on Interstate 55. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
As the protesters who had been blocking Interstate 55 retuned to the city, they attempted to shut down the Hernando Desoto Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River into Arkansas, on May 31, 2020. They were met with a barrage of tear gas and pepper spray from Shelby County Sheriff's deputies. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A group of protesters tend to a young woman who was tear-gassed by Shelby County Sheriff's deputies May 31, 2020, by pouring milk on her face. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
After the protesters' second attempt to take the Hernando Desoto Bridge, Memphis Police officers in riot gear follow the remaining protesters throughout Downtown Memphis, pushing them away from the bridge into the early hours of June 1, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
As the protesters' numbers began to dwindle, the Memphis Police began rounding up the remaining protesters who hung around Downtown in the early hours of June 1, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
The night following the attempted shutdowns of the Hernando Desoto Bridge, a heavy National Guard presence was stationed in and around the Clifford Davis-Odell Horton Federal Building as protests continued in Downtown Memphis. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
By June 2, 2020, the once-consolidated marches in Downtown Memphis were splintering. One of the groups to spring up was the Memphis People Coalition led by Darin Abston Jr. On June 2, Abston took a group of protesters to block the busy suburban thoroughfare Germantown Parkway. Abston, pictured here pointing and yelling at a police officer, said he wanted to spark change by bringing the protests to the door of the people living away from the city center. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
LJ Abraham (center), pictured here marching near Beale Street on June 3, 2020, was another protest leader who split from the Devante Hill-led marches. Abraham struck a middle-ground between Hill and Abston's marches and primarily focused on targeting and exposing racist practices in local business in Memphis. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
As the protests continued into their second week, several established groups, including the Official Black Lives Matter Memphis Chapter and Coalition of Concerned Citizens, held a civil disobedience training course at the National Civil Rights Museum on Thursday, June 4, 2020. It was an effort to unite Memphis protesters under a list of ideologies and grievances and to build a knowledge of how to safely and effectively execute a protest. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Joe Calhoun (right), who marched as a marshal in 1968 during the I Am a Man march in Downtown Memphis, stands next to Devante Hill on June 7 in I Am a Man Plaza. It was the 12th straight night of protests over the death of George Floyd. Though smaller protests would pick back up later in the week, this would be the last of Memphis' continuous protests. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
The death of George Floyd at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers May 25 sparked a wave of international protests, police reforms and racial introspection.
All over the world, protesters marched, toppled statues and demanded justice.
And Memphis was no exception.
For 12 straight days, from May 27 to June 7, protesters gathered in large groups all over the city demanding police reforms and justice for the likes of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.
Though the protests would pick back up after a short hiatus and still continue periodically, The Daily Memphian chose 12 previously unpublished photos to capture the first 12 days of the Floyd protests in Memphis.
Topics
George Floyd George Floyd protests Black Lives Matter DeVante Hill Darin Abston Jr. LJ Abraham Black Lives Matter Memphis Memphis Police Department Shelby County Sheriff's Office Tennessee National GuardPatrick Lantrip
Patrick Lantrip is an award-winning writer, photographer and videographer based in Memphis, Tennessee. When not exploring the outdoors, Patrick enjoys spending time with his son, Aaron.
Public Safety on demand
Sign up to receive Public Safety stories as they’re published.
Enter your e-mail address
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.