TWIN CRISES AND SURGING ANGER CONVULSE U.S. · terrorist attacks. The scene on Friday night,...

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They are parallel plagues rav-aging America: The coronavirus.And police killings of black menand women.

Jimmy Mills’s life has been up-ended by both. His barbershop inMidtown Minneapolis was one ofmany small, black-owned busi-nesses that have struggled to sur-vive the pandemic. But Mr. Millswas hopeful because, after twomonths shut down, he was due toreopen next week.

Then early on Friday, the work-ing-class neighborhood where Mr.Mills has cut hair for 12 yearswent up in flames as chaotic pro-tests over the death of GeorgeFloyd and police killings of Afri-can-Americans engulfed Minne-apolis and cities across the coun-try.

“To have corona, and then this— it’s like a gut shot,” Mr. Mills, 56,said.

The upheaval sparked by a vid-eo capturing Mr. Floyd’s agoniz-ing last minutes as a white policeofficer kneels on his neck is puls-ing through an America alreadyragged with anger and anxiety.Emotions are raw over the toll of apandemic that has killed morethan 100,000 people across thecountry and cost millions of jobs.On Sunday, at least another 600Americans were reported to havedied from Covid-19.

Minneapolis residents said out-rage and protests in the aftermathof the killing of George Floyd werea result of a community beingtested repeatedly in recent weeksby both police violence and the vi-rus — and in ways that put Ameri-ca’s deep racial inequalities instark relief.

The outbreak has inflicted dis-proportionate economic andhealth tolls on racial minoritiesand immigrants in Minneapolisand beyond. Black and Latinoworkers have been more likely tohave lost their jobs. Many othersare among the low-paid hourlyworkers who risk their health bygoing to work at grocery stores,nursing homes, factories, slaugh-terhouses and other jobs that can-not be done remotely.

The black community in Minne-sota has also been hit hard bycases of the virus, just as African-Americans across the country arebeing infected and dying at higherrates.

By one estimate, black peopleaccounted for at least 29 percentof known Covid-19 cases in Minne-sota, despite making up about 6percent of the state’s population.African-Americans make up 35percent of coronavirus cases inMinneapolis, though they are lessthan 20 percent of the city’s popu-lation.

Continued on Page A11

A One-Two PunchPuts Inequality

on Display

By JACK HEALYand DIONNE SEARCEY

dress the tensions roiling thecountry. Instead he used Twitterto criticize local Democratic lead-ers for not doing more to controlthe protests.

Mayors and police chiefs spentthe day explaining, defending andpromising full investigations intothe actions of officers seen on thedisturbing videos.

“I didn’t like what I saw one bit.I did not want to ever see some-thing like that,” said Mayor Bill deBlasio of New York, who also com-plimented the city’s police officersfor generally showing a “tremen-dous amount of restraint.”

Military vehicles in recentnights have moved down citystreets as phalanxes of officers infull riot gear fired clouds of nox-ious gas. Yet the show of forceshowed little sign that it wouldbring calm.

Instead, some people said, itwas escalating tensions and serv-ing as a reminder of the regularuse of military equipment and tac-tics by local police forces.

Mass demonstrations areamong the most difficult situa-tions that the police have to man-age. They must balance constitu-tional liberties with the safety ofofficers and the public. Crowdsare unpredictable and, in recentdays, sometimes hostile. Toomuch force can escalate the situa-tion — but so can too little.

Not all protests have erupted inviolence, with some police forcesshowing a more positive relation-

Demonstrations continuedacross the United States on Sun-day as the nation braced for an-other grueling night of unrestover police shootings and thedeath of George Floyd, amidgrowing concern that aggressivelaw enforcement tactics intendedto impose order were instead in-flaming tensions.

Videos showed police officers inrecent nights using batons, teargas, pepper spray and rubber bul-lets on protesters, bystanders andjournalists, often without warningor seemingly unprovoked. Thefootage, which has been sharedwidely online, highlighted thevery complaints over police be-havior that have drawn protests inat least 75 cities across the UnitedStates.

In Salt Lake City, officers in riotgear shoved a man with a cane tothe ground.

In Brooklyn, two police S.U.V.splowed into a crowd of protesters.

In Atlanta, police officers en-forcing a curfew stopped two col-lege students in a car, fired Taserson them and dragged them out ofthe vehicle.

And in Minneapolis, wherethere have been six consecutivenights of protests and clashes, avideo appeared to show officersyelling at people on their porchesto get inside and then firing paintcanisters at them. “Light themup,” one officer said.

As crowds began gatheringagain in cities on Sunday, Presi-dent Trump resisted calls to ad-

TWIN CRISES AND SURGING ANGER CONVULSE U.S.

By SHAILA DEWAN and MIKE BAKER

Continued on Page A12

CLASHES Protesters in Brooklyn on Saturday, top, and the police in Minneapolis moving to dis-perse a rally. Shows of force by law enforcement did little to bring calm to many of the nation’s cities.

VICTOR J. BLUE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

CHANG W. LEE/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Videos From Protests Deepen Scrutinyof Aggressive Police Tactics

Christo, the Bulgarian-bornconceptual artist who turned toepic-scale environmental worksin the late 1960s, stringing a giantcurtain across a mountain pass inColorado, wrapping the Pont Neufin Paris and the Reichstag inBerlin and zigzagging thousandsof saffron-curtained gatesthroughout Central Park, died onSunday at his home in New YorkCity. He was 84.

His death was announced on hisofficial Facebook page. No causewas specified.

Christo — he used only his firstname — was an artistic PiedPiper. His grand projects, oftendecades in the making and all of

them temporary, required the co-operation of dozens, sometimeshundreds, of landowners, govern-ment officials, judges, envi-ronmental groups, local residents,engineers and workers, many ofwhom had little interest in art anda deep reluctance to see their livesand their surroundings disruptedby an eccentric visionary speak-ing in only semi-comprehensibleEnglish.

Again and again, Christo pre-vailed, through persistence,charm and a childlike belief thateventually everyone would seethings the way he did.

At his side, throughout, was hiswife, Jeanne-Claude, who, like herhusband, used only her firstname. In the mid-1990s she began

An Artist Who Saw Streets and Mountains as His CanvasBy WILLIAM GRIMES

CHRISTO, 1935-2020

Christo in 2016 at the site of “The Floating Piers” on Lake Iseo inItaly. It was the subject of the documentary “Walking on Water.”

ANDREA FRAZZETTA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A9

Last spring, after years of strifewith friends and neighbors and aconstant struggle for money, TaraReade was making a fresh start ina new town, Grass Valley, Calif.,near the outskirts of Tahoe Na-tional Forest.

She found a place for heradopted rescue horse, Charm, anda tidy ground-level apartment forherself and her cats. Ms. Reade,who had moved from the SantaCruz area, told friends about anew passion and appreciation forRussia, its culture and its leader.She was working on a novel.

But trouble would find her inGrass Valley, too. Work would be

hard to come by. Her car would berepossessed. Rent would fall intoarrears. Acquaintances who triedto help would accuse her of failingto repay the money they had lenther, of skipping out on bills andmisleading them, just as othershad done in the places she had leftbehind.

It was a messy life, played out inobscurity.

Then came accusations fromseveral women that former VicePresident Joseph R. Biden Jr. hadmade them uncomfortable bytouching or kissing them inappro-priately in public settings.

Ms. Reade was reminded of herown experience with Mr. Biden, asa junior aide in his Senate office in1993, and she went public in her lo-

For Biden’s Accuser, Long RoadMarked by Verve and Acrimony

This article is by Jim Rutenberg,Stephanie Saul and Lisa Lerer.

Continued on Page A16

WASHINGTON — Inside theWhite House, the mood wasbristling with tension. Hundredsof protesters were gathering out-side the gates, shouting curses atPresident Trump and in somecases throwing bricks and bottles.Nervous for his safety, SecretService agents abruptly rushedthe president to the undergroundbunker used in the past duringterrorist attacks.

The scene on Friday night, de-scribed by a person with firsthandknowledge, added to the sense ofunease at the White House asdemonstrations spread after thebrutal death of a black man in po-lice custody under a white offi-cer’s knee. While in the end offi-cials said they were never reallyin danger, Mr. Trump and his fam-ily have been rattled by proteststhat turned violent three nights ina row near the Executive Man-sion.

After days in which the empa-

thy he expressed for GeorgeFloyd, the man killed, was over-shadowed by his combativethreats to ramp up violenceagainst looters and rioters, Mr.Trump spent Sunday out of sight,even as some of his campaign ad-visers were recommending thathe deliver a nationally televisedaddress before another night ofpossible violence. The buildingwas even emptier than usual assome White House officials plan-ning to work were told not to comein case of renewed unrest.

By nightfall on Sunday, pro-testers had returned to vicinity ofthe White House in force, and si-rens wailed through much of thedowntown Washington as the po-lice rushed to the scene to re-inforce the Secret Service and Na-tional Guard. The mayor imposedan 11 p.m. curfew in hopes ofavoiding late-night clashes.

Mr. Trump remained cloistered

Trump Offers No Calming WordsAs Tumult Reaches White House

By PETER BAKER and MAGGIE HABERMAN

Continued on Page A15

COLUMBIA, S.C. — In an on-camera address after a week ofdestructive protests, former vicepresident Joseph R. Biden Jr.pleaded with his audience toimagine life for black people inAmerica. Imagine, he said, “if ev-ery time your husband or son,wife or daughter left the house,you feared for their safety.” Imag-ine the police called on you for sit-ting in Starbucks.

“The anger and frustration andthe exhaustion, it’s undeniable,”he said.

Exhaustion. For many blackAmericans across the country,what a year this month has been.The coronavirus has continued todisproportionately kill black peo-

ple, and a spate of high profilekillings in recent months in Geor-gia, Kentucky, and Minnesota, thelatter two at the hands of the po-lice, led to widespread demonstra-tions nationwide.

Protests shook more than threedozen cities on Saturday ascrowds expressed outrage overthe death of George Floyd, a blacksecurity guard who was killed inpolice custody in Minneapolis.Demonstrators shut down free-ways, set fires and battled police

batons and tear gas, the pain andfrustration of the moment spillingout into the streets.

In Columbia, the city where Mr.Biden delivered his victoryspeech after the South Carolinaprimary, demonstrators on Satur-day said they were demandingmore than what it seemed like anelection would deliver. Not onlyjustice for George Floyd’s death,but change in political and eco-nomic power that would preventthe death of another black personin police custody.

“I’m tired of coming out here,”said Devean Moon, a 21-year-oldColumbia resident, who partici-pated in the peaceful protests inthe city. “I’m tired of feeling forcedto do all this.”

It dawned on Sierra Moore, 24,

Black Voters to Democrats: Normal Won’t DoBy ASTEAD W. HERNDON A Demand for Lasting

Change as ProtestsSweep Streets

Continued on Page A15

Michael Kimmelman and the architectClaire Weisz take a digital walk throughthe city’s financial district. Above, theOculus shopping/transit center. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-8

A Virtual Tour for Two

Reid and Blake Ferguson, brothers whoare long snappers for A.F.C. East teams,have become housemates and trainingpartners during an N.F.L. off-seasonthat so far has no end date. PAGE D1

SPORTSMONDAY D1-5

A Football Family ReunionSpaceX delivered two NASA astronautsto the International Space Station aftera 19-hour journey, the first phase of anopen-ended stay in orbit. PAGE A10

NATIONAL A10-19

Welcome to the Space Station

Six small-business owners who gotgovernment loans say they’re grateful,but it’s not enough for some. PAGE B4

Help, but for How Long?

Officials worry that even though manydemonstrators across the U.S. are wear-ing masks, the risk of new cases willincrease as thousands gather. PAGE A7

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-7

Fear of Protest Hot Spots

Mourning families say they are payingthe price as the country resists strictlockdown measures. PAGE A5

Midnight Burials in Nicaragua

A senior editor did not disclose that herhusband, Dominic Cummings, hadbreached a stay-at-home order. PAGE A8

INTERNATIONAL A8-9

U.K. Magazine Faces Scrutiny

Beijing is recruiting support for itsincreasingly hard-line stance in theglobal financial capital. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-8

Hong Kong Mutes Workers

Rabbi Norman Lamm also believed thatOrthodox Jews should engage withmodern society. He was 92. PAGE D8

OBITUARIES D7-8

Rescued Yeshiva University

Michigan is a case study in how thepresident’s statements can underminehis re-election push. PAGE A18

His Own Worst Enemy

A decades-long Manhattan pickupbasketball game is on hold because ofthe pandemic, creating an emotionalvoid for its rotating cast of actors, exec-utives and regular joes. PAGE D1

Keeping the Gym Locked

Late Edition

VOL. CLXIX . . . . No. 58,711 © 2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2020

Jamelle Bouie PAGE A20

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A20-21

Today, periodic clouds and sunshine,breezy, cool, high 72. Tonight, partlycloudy, low of 57. Tomorrow, inter-vals of clouds and sunshine, high 73.Weather map appears on Page B8.

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