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Black Lives Matter, at least in its current iteration, shouldn’t be a partisan issue, yet at times it has been.
It’s understandable that there’s been some consternation and anger over those protests that have eventually turned into riots with looting, but that’s not what’s been at the heart of the civil unrest in the United States over the last week.
Citizens from all over the country have taken to the streets peacefully to protest the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin — who has since been arrested and is being charged for second-degree murder after the initial charges brought against him were third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Those protests have even happened in Ann Arbor — again, peacefully — and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was one of many participants from the football program on Tuesday morning.
And that’s not only gotten national attention, it got a shoutout from the nation’s 44th president, Barack Obama, who addressed the nation on Wednesday.
“I know we saw Jim Harbaugh — I’m sorry, I know we have the Ohio State contingent here — you got Jim Harbaugh, the coach of Michigan football, marching today,” Obama said. “That’s not something that was happening five, six years ago. Although Jim I know, and he’s been on the right side of this issue for quite some time.
“You have unlikely participants because all of you have all worked so hard to raise awareness. That’s the progress that has been made — it doesn’t mean that it’s been solved.”
[lawrence-related id=25575,25559,25529]
Watch the video below:
Former President Barack Obama in his town hall:
"You got Jim Harbaugh, the coach of Michigan football, marching today. That's not something that was happening five, six years ago. Although Jim I know, and he's been on the right side of this issue for quite some time." pic.twitter.com/D6M0oN7G37
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) June 3, 2020