In late May, a summer defined by Black Lives Matter activists protesting for racial justice began in Wilmington.
Sparked by the killing of a Black man, George Floyd, on May 25 in Minneapolis at the hands of a white police officer who has since been charged with murder, the protests which focused largely on police violence and harassment directed at Black people quickly swept the nation and even the world.
In Wilmington, the protests were, at different times, raucous, somber, tense, chaotic, angry, tearful, stirring, tedious, exciting and enlightening. Police deployed tear gas and issued citations mostly for blocking the streets without permission or for misdemeanor property damage but violence by the protesters was all but non-existent.