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Every evening tens of thousands of Americans demonstrate against police violence and racism. But who actually listens to them in a deeply divided country that is also involved in the election campaign?
By Torsten Teichmann, ARD Studio Washington
In Bethesda, a wealthy suburb of the US capital Washington, protesters face a police car and several officers. Just because the time for the demonstration is over, the protest is far from over, says Ammadou. The remaining demonstrators demand that the police continue to move them around the suburb.
"The entire political system is broken. In the United States, white Americans can carry arms and demonstrate directly in front of police officers. But black Americans are accused of doing something if the police have already killed them - without consequences. That is the problem in the country."
The confrontation with police officers has been repeated every night across the country - since the black American George Floyd was killed by police officers in Minneapolis. For example, demonstrators in Houston are trying to stop protesters throwing stones at officials. This is how it can be seen in pictures from Texas.
In Washington DC, demonstrators are upset about a participant tearing down a street sign.
"It's peaceful, we're already after the curfew. Only one guy got a street sign down and people booed it. We're trying to peacefully force change here."
The police in front of the White House were far away at the time: at a distance from the demonstrators behind a fence. Nobody seems tangible for the concerns of the demonstrators.
Protests outside the White House in the American capital Washington.
Justice Minister William Barr and President Donald Trump yesterday had the peaceful protest dissolved with tear gas and rubber bullets. Former Chief of Staff, Mike Mullen, and ex-President George W. Bush have responded with horror. Former Vice President Joe Biden taught the President a lesson:
"It is the right of people to gather peacefully. That is the basis of this country. Mr. President, this is America. Not horses that line up to drive out demonstrators. Not the use of the military against the American people."
Trump had threatened to deploy the military yesterday if state governors failed to end riots and looting. Trump said they should dominate the street. He does not respond to the demonstrators' demands.
The police in Bethesda, the suburb of Washington, make another decision. It lets the remaining participants of the rally move on. One of the organizers of the protest, Carla, apologizes to an official. You don't have to worry, he assures. Carla seems relieved:
"I'm not saying that people shouldn't face the police. They should do that. But first a lot would be achieved if we put more people on the street at all."
Progress can only be made in small steps: In Minneapolis, the city in which George Floyd was killed in an arrest, the work of the police over the past ten years should now be systematically reviewed .
