“As protests spread from coast to coast, mayors in more than two dozen cities declared curfews—the first time so many local leaders have simultaneously issued such orders in the face of civic unrest since 1968, after the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” 1968 was 52 years ago, and while there have been incremental changes in some parts of the country for some persons of color, the predominant narrative is no different now than it was then. As one protestor said, “I’m not here to fight someone,” said Eldon Gillet, 40, who was on the streets in Brooklyn. “I’m here to fight a system.” Another said, “I’m out here so that my two kids never have to be.” In “a country already ragged with anger and anxiety,” as one story had it, “With a nation on edge—ravaged by a pandemic, hammered by economic collapse, divided over lockdowns and even face masks, and continuing to be convulsed by racial discord—President Trump’s instinct has been to look for someone to fight.”

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