2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Police brutality in the United States
Several nationally publicized incidents occurred in Minnesota, including the 2015 killing of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis; the 2016 killing of Philando Castile in Falcon Heights; and the 2017 killing of Justine Damond. In 2016, Tony Timpa was killed by Dallas police officers in the same way as George Floyd. In March 2020, the killing of Breonna Taylor by police executing a no knock warrant at her Kentucky apartment was also widely publicized. However, it was later revealed the warrant was not a no knock warrant in released police documents and the reports were redacted.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Police brutality in the United States
According to The Washington Post database of every fatal shooting by an on-duty police officer in the United States, as of August 31, 2020, nine unarmed Black people had been shot by police in 2020. As of that date, the database lists four people of unknown race, 11 white people, three Hispanic people, and one person of "other" race who were shot while unarmed. Black people, who account for less than 13% of the American population, are killed by police at a disproportionate rate, being killed at more than twice the rate of white people.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Police brutality in the United States
According to a data set and analysis which was released by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) at the beginning of September, there were more than 10,600 demonstration events across the country between May 24 and August 22 which were associated with all causes: Black Lives Matter, counter-protests, COVID-19-pandemic-related protests, and others. After Floyd's killing, Black Lives Matter related protests sharply peaked in number at the end of May, declining to dozens per week by September.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Police brutality in the United States
The ACLED characterized Black Lives Matter as "an overwhelmingly peaceful movement", finding that more than 93% of protests involved no incidents of violence nor destructive activity. Several other studies and analyses also found that the large majority of protests have been peaceful. In protests that were violent, violence was variously instigated by protesters, counter-protesters, or police, and police sometimes escalated violence. A September 2020 article in Axios reported that the vandalism and looting that did occur would result in at least $1 billion to $2 billion of paid insurance claims. The 2020 unrest cost the insurance industry far more than any prior incidents of social unrest.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Police brutality in the United States
According to Amnesty International's October 2020 report Losing the Peace: U.S. Police Failures to Protect Protesters from Violence, law enforcement agencies across the United States failed to protect protesters from violent armed groups. The incidents documented by Amnesty International show over a dozen protests and counter-protests erupted in violence with police either mostly, or entirely, absent from the scene. Amnesty International USA, jointly with the Center for Civilians in Conflict, Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights, and Human Rights First, sent a letter to governors of U.S. states condemning abuses by law enforcement agencies and calling on governors to ensure the constitutional right to assemble peacefully.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Killing of Breonna Taylor
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove on March 13, 2020. Three plainclothes LMPD officers entered her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, executing a search warrant. Gunfire was exchanged between Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, and the officers. Walker said that he believed that the officers were intruders. The LMPD officers fired over twenty shots. Taylor was shot eight times and LMPD Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly was injured by gunfire. Another police officer and an LMPD lieutenant were on the scene when the warrant was executed.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Killing of Breonna Taylor
The primary targets of the LMPD investigation were Jamarcus Glover and Adrian Walker, who were suspected of selling controlled substances from a drug house more than 10 miles away. According to a Taylor family attorney, Glover had dated Taylor two years before and continued to have a "passive friendship". The search warrant included Taylor's residence because it was suspected that Glover received packages containing drugs at Taylor's apartment and because a car registered to Taylor had been seen parked on several occasions in front of Glover's house.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Killing of Breonna Taylor
Kenneth Walker, who was licensed to carry a firearm, fired first, injuring a law enforcement officer, whereupon police returned fire into the apartment with more than 20 rounds. A wrongful death lawsuit filed against the police by the Taylor family's attorney alleges that the officers, who entered Taylor's home "without knocking and without announcing themselves as police officers", opened fire "with a total disregard for the value of human life;" however, according to the police account, the officers did knock and announce themselves before forcing entry.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Killing of Breonna Taylor
With officials, media and general public distracted by COVID-19 pandemic, the police killing of Taylor initially largely escaped widespread scrutiny. However, Taylor's death became one of the most discussed and protested events of the broader movement.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Murder of George Floyd
On May 25, 2020, at 8:08 p.m. CDT, Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers responded to a 9-1-1 call alleging a "forgery in progress" on Chicago Avenue South in Powderhorn, Minneapolis. MPD Officers Thomas K. Lane and J. Alexander Kueng arrived with their body cameras turned on. A store employee told officers that the man was in a nearby car. Officers approached the car and ordered George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, who according to police "appeared to be under the influence", to exit the vehicle, at which point he "physically resisted".


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Murder of George Floyd
According to the MPD, officers "were able to get the suspect into handcuffs, and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance." Once Floyd was handcuffed, he and Officer Lane walked to the sidewalk. Floyd sat on the ground in Officer Lane's direction. In a short conversation, the officer asked Floyd for his name and identification, explaining that he was being arrested for passing counterfeit currency, and asked if he was "on anything".


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Murder of George Floyd
According to the report, officers Kueng and Lane attempted to help Floyd to their squad car, but at 8:14 p.m., Floyd stiffened up and fell to the ground. Soon, MPD Officers Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao arrived in a separate squad car. The officers made several more failed attempts to get Floyd into the squad car.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Murder of George Floyd
Floyd, who was still handcuffed, went to the ground face down. Officer Kueng held Floyd's back, and Lane held his legs. Chauvin placed his left knee in the area of Floyd's head and neck. A Facebook Live livestream recorded by a bystander showed officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck. Floyd repeatedly tells Chauvin "Please" and "I can't breathe", while a bystander is heard telling the police officer, "You got him down. Let him breathe."


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Murder of George Floyd
After some time, a bystander points out that Floyd was bleeding from his nose while another bystander tells the police that Floyd is "not even resisting arrest right now", to which the police tell the bystanders that Floyd was "talking, he's fine". A bystander replies saying Floyd "ain't fine". A bystander then protests that the police were preventing Floyd from breathing, urging them to "get him off the ground ... You could have put him in the car by now. He's not resisting arrest or nothing." Floyd then goes silent and motionless.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Murder of George Floyd
Chauvin does not remove his knee until an ambulance arrives. Emergency medical services put Floyd on a stretcher. Not only had Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for about seven minutes (including four minutes after Floyd stopped moving), but another video showed an additional two officers had also knelt on Floyd while another officer watched.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Murder of George Floyd
Although the police report stated that medical services were requested prior to the time Floyd was placed in handcuffs, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Emergency Medical Services arrived at the scene six minutes after getting the call. Medics were unable to detect a pulse, and Floyd was pronounced dead at the hospital. An autopsy of Floyd was conducted on May 26, and the next day, the preliminary report by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office was published, which found "no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation".


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Murder of George Floyd
Floyd's underlying health conditions included coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease. The initial report said that "[t]he combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death." The medical examiner further said that Floyd was "high on fentanyl and had recently used methamphetamine at the time of his death".


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Murder of George Floyd
On May 26, Chauvin and the other three officers were fired. He was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter; the former charge was later changed to second-degree murder. On June 1, a private autopsy which was commissioned by the family of Floyd ruled that Floyd's death was a homicide and it also found that Floyd had died due to asphyxiation which resulted from sustained pressure, which conflicted with the original autopsy report which was completed earlier that week. Shortly after, the official post-mortem declared Floyd's death a homicide. Video footage of Officer Derek Chauvin applying 8 minutes 15 seconds of sustained pressure to Floyd's neck generated global attention and raised questions about the use of force by law enforcement. ,


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Background, Murder of George Floyd
On June 3, Chauvin was charged with unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter related to the incident, and officers Kueng, Lane, and Thao were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. On April 20, 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of all charges by a 12-person grand jury. Two months later, on June 25th, he was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. Officers Kueng, Lane, and Thao are set to stand trial in March 2022.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Breonna Taylor protests, May 26, 2020–ongoing; jury verdict protests, September 23, 2020
On March 13, Breonna Taylor was shot and killed. Demonstrations over her death began on May 26, 2020, and lasted into August. One person was shot and killed during the protests.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Breonna Taylor protests, May 26, 2020–ongoing; jury verdict protests, September 23, 2020
Protest erupted again on September 23, the night after the grand jury verdict was announced, protesters gathered in the Jefferson Square Park area of Louisville, as well as many other cities in the United States, including Los Angeles, Dallas, Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, Seattle. In Louisville, two LMPD officers were shot during the protest and one suspect was kept in custody.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, George Floyd protests, May 26, 2020–ongoing
The major catalyst of the unrest was the murder of George Floyd on May 25. Though it was not the first controversial killing of a Black person in 2020, it sparked a much wider series of global protests and riots which continued into August 2020. As of June 8, there were at least 19 deaths related to the protests. The George Floyd protests are generally regarded as marking the start of the 2020 United States unrest.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, George Floyd protests, May 26, 2020–ongoing
In Minneapolis–Saint Paul alone, the immediate aftermath of the killing of George Floyd was second-most destructive period of local unrest in United States history, after the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Over a three night period, the cities experienced two deaths, 617 arrests, and upwards of $500 million in property damage to 1,500 locations, including 150 properties that were set on fire.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, June 8, 2020–July 1, 2020
Established on June 8 in Seattle, CHAZ/CHOP was a self-declared autonomous zone established in defiance of the killing of George Floyd after police abandoned the East Precinct building. Groups like the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club provided security while the protesters themselves provided either resources or assisted the PSJBGC in security. Multiple people were killed in altercations with security and on July 1 the autonomous zone/occupied protest was officially cleared by the Seattle Police Department.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Kenosha unrest and shooting, August 23 and 25, 2020; 2020 American athlete strikes
The shooting of Jacob Blake on August 23 sparked protests in a number of American cities, mostly within Kenosha. Two protesters were shot and killed in an incident during the protests. Nationally, athletes from the NHL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, and MLS began going on strike in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake. On October 14, prosecutors announced that Kyle Rittenhouse, who was charged with killing the two protesters, would not face gun charges in Illinois.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Minneapolis false rumors riot, August 26–27, 2020
A riot occurred in downtown Minneapolis in reaction to false rumors about the suicide of Eddie Sole Jr., a 38-year-old African American man; demonstrators believed he had been shot by police officers. Surveillance video showed that Sole Jr. shot himself in the head during a manhunt for a homicide suspect in which he was the person of interest. Controversially, the police released the CCTV camera footage of the suicide in attempts to stop the unrest. Overnight vandalism and looting of stores from August 26 to 27 reached a total of 76 property locations in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, including four businesses that were set on fire. State and local officials arrested a total of 132 people during the unrest.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Red House eviction defense protest, December 8, 2020
On December 8, protesters in Portland gathered to blockade parts of the Humboldt Neighborhood in order to protect a family who had been evicted after living in said house for 65 years. Protesters blockaded the area similar to the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Trial of Derek Chauvin protests, March 7, 2021–April 20, 2021
Approximately a thousand protesters outside a downtown Minneapolis courthouse as Chauvin's trial commenced on March 8, 2021, to call for justice for Floyd and raise broader issues of racial injustice. Officials surrounded the facility with a concrete barrier, metal fencing, and barbed wire in anticipation of unrest. Protests and rallies planned for the George Floyd Square were halted for several days after a fatal shooting there on March 6, 2021.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Trial of Derek Chauvin protests, March 7, 2021–April 20, 2021
On March 28, 2021, the day before opening statements in the trial of Derek Chauvin, several rallies and protests were held in Minneapolis. Separately, protesters marched in downtown Minneapolis to demand justice for Floyd and rallied at the Hennepin County Government Center and City Hall, and some demonstrators parked cars on the Metro light-rail tracks, which closed train traffic for several hours. At 38th and Chicago Avenue, the street intersection where Floyd was killed, a group of people held a training workshop at the square on how to avoid arrest and keep calm if detained by police.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Atlanta shooting protests, March 16, 2021
On March 16, 2021, a series of mass shootings occurred at three spas in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Eight people were killed, six of whom were Asian women. A suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, was taken into custody later that day. Several anti-Asian violence rallies have been held across the United States in 2021 in response to the recent rise of racism against Asian Americans. Several of the rallies are named "Stop Asian Hate".


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Daunte Wright protests, April 11, 2021–ongoing
On April 11, 2021, at 1:48 p.m., 20-year-old Daunte Wright was shot and killed during a traffic stop by Kim Potter, an officer with the police department of Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis. His girlfriend, a passenger in his car, was also injured. An initially peaceful demonstration at the scene of the shooting turned violent following a strengthened police presence, and looting was reported. On April 13, 2021, Potter resigned, as well as Brooklyn Center police chief Tim Gannon, who said that Potter accidentally fired her gun. The next day, Potter was charged with second-degree manslaughter.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Winston Boogie Smith protests and vehicle-ramming, June 3–ongoing
Winston Boogie Smith, a 32-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by law enforcement authorities on June 3, 2021, as they attempted to apprehend him at a parking ramp in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. Protests following the killing began on June 3 and continued for several days, primarily in Uptown. Soon after the shooting, Smith's family demanded greater law enforcement transparency and the release of any surveillance footage that might have captured the incident. Civil rights activists and Smith's friends and family disputed the law enforcement accounts of the incident.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Winston Boogie Smith protests and vehicle-ramming, June 3–ongoing
Local organization Communities United Against Police Brutality held a press conference near the shooting site on June 4 to call for officials to release video footage and other details of the shooting. Family and friends of Smith held a peaceful vigil the evening of June 4 at the parking ramp where he was killed, and participated in a protest march on June 6. Activist Nekima Levy Armstrong led a protest on June 8 outside the home of Minnesota's U.S. Marshal, Ramona Dohman, calling for her resignation. Armstrong alleged that Dohman, a Trump administration appointee, had a conflict of interest due to a past working relationship with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Major protests, Winston Boogie Smith protests and vehicle-ramming, June 3–ongoing
On June 13, 2021, a man drove a car into a crowd of demonstrators who had gathered as a part of the ongoing Winston Boogie Smith protests, killing Deona M. Knajdek and injuring three others. That evening, demonstrators had blocked the intersection of West Lake Street and Girard Avenue. At approximately 11:39 p.m. CDT, a man in a Jeep Cherokee drove into the crowd at a high speed, striking a parked vehicle that had been used to block off the intersection to traffic, which then collided with protesters. On June 16, 2021, the driver was charged with second-degree intentional murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon in relation to the crash, after allegedly telling investigators that he had accelerated towards the crowd in an attempt to clear the barricades that were protecting protesters.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Themes and demands, "Defund the police"
Unlike recent racial protests in the United States before it, the 2020 protests frequently included the slogan "defund the police", representing a call for divestment in policing. The degree of divestment advocated varied, with some protesters calling for the elimination of police departments and others for reduced budgets. Supporters of partial or complete defunding of the police argued that budgets should be directed instead towards community-driven police alternatives, investment in mental health and substance abuse treatment services, job-training programs, or other forms of investment into Black urban communities.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Themes and demands, "Defund the police"
In June 2020, New York City mayor Bill De Blasio responded to calls for divestment by cutting $1 billion of the New York City Police Department (NYPD)'s $6 billion budget and directing it instead to city youth groups and social services, a reduction of 17%. The cut mostly involved shifting some responsibilities to other city agencies, with the size of the force barely changing.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Themes and demands, "Defund the police"
The city council in Minneapolis voted in June to "end policing as we know it" and replace it with a "holistic" approach to public safety, but by September 2020, the pledge collapsed without implementation.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Themes and demands, "Defund the police"
An increasing number of community groups had opposed the pledge, a poll from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune showed that a plurality of residents, including 50% of Black people, opposed decreasing the size of the police force, and city councilors cited alarm from business owners and residents in more affluent areas of their wards who feared for their safety, as beliefs anticipating an immediate end to the police department proliferated. Incremental reforms of a type that the city's progressive politicians had denounced were pursued in lieu of the pledge. The Black Visions Collective, an activist group seeking police abolition, called past reforms "weak" and stated, "It is the nature of white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy or any of these other systems of oppression to want to do what is necessary to save themselves."


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Themes and demands, "Defund the police"
Nationwide, defunding the police has not received broad support from congressional Democrats. Senator Bernie Sanders, a former Democratic presidential candidate, and Democratic President Joe Biden, both support police reform instead. During the 2020 campaign, President Donald Trump heavily criticized the "defund the police" movement; Trump and his campaign, as well as Trump allies, repeatedly and falsely claimed that Biden supported police defunding.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Themes and demands, "Defund the police"
According to a report released by Movement for Black Lives, the US federal government deliberately targeted black lives matter protesters with heavier penalties in an attempt to disrupt the movement.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Themes and demands, Monument removals
Protesters have called for the removal of statues commemorating historical figures, such as Confederate war veterans and politicians as well as Christopher Columbus, who are perceived as racist by modern standards. Often those depicted in the statues were responsible for human rights violations. A number were either removed by authorities, or vandalized and toppled by protesters. Statues of United States presidents, including the Emancipation Memorial featuring Abraham Lincoln, have also been vandalized and attacked by protesters. Some pro-Union or anti-slavery monuments were also targeted, as they were seen to embody disrespectful attitudes towards Native Americans or the enslaved. In one case, a statue of abolitionist Hans Christian Heg was torn down.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Related racial unrest outside the United States
Writing for Foreign Affairs, professor Brenda Gayle Plummer noted that "The particulars of Floyd's murder, taking place against the backdrop of the pandemic, may well have been the dam-break moment for the global protest movement. But they are only part of the story. International solidarity with the African American civil rights struggle comes not from some kind of projection or spontaneous sentiment; it was seeded by centuries of Black activism abroad and foreign concern about human rights violations in the United States."


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Related racial unrest outside the United States, The Netherlands
Related racial unrest in the Netherlands included widespread participation in George Floyd protests. The unrest has led to a change in public opinion on Zwarte Piet, a character used in Dutch Sinterklaas celebrations who has been historically portrayed in blackface. Leaving the appearance of Zwarte Piet unaltered has traditionally been supported by the public but opposed by anti-racism campaigners, but a June 2020 survey saw a drop in support for leaving the character's appearance unaltered: 47 per cent of those surveyed supported the traditional appearance, compared to 71 per cent in a similar survey held in November 2019. Prime minister Mark Rutte stated in a parliamentary debate on June 5, 2020, that he had changed his opinion on the issue and now has more understanding for people who consider the character's appearance to be racist.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Related racial unrest outside the United States, United Kingdom
The 2020–21 United States racial unrest has triggered protests, political gestures and policy changes in the United Kingdom, both in solidarity with the United States and in comparable protest against racism in the United Kingdom. The debate over statues of certain historical figures has been a significant feature of the unrest in Britain, following the unauthorized removal of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol on June 11 during a protest in the city. The Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden wrote a three-page letter to MPs, peers and councillors arguing against the removal of statues. Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned protesters who defaced the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square in London, and several statues were subsequently covered up as a precaution.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact
In late May to June 2020, the high-profile killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery led to a racial reckoning that greatly increased sentiment regarding systemic racism in the United States, with changes occurring in public opinion, government, industry, education and sports. This racial reckoning aimed at confronting a legacy of systemic inequality and racial injustice stemming from overt discrimination and unconscious bias in the societal treatment of black Americans, who have experienced disproportionately negative outcomes in the form of racial inequality such as in education, health care, housing, imprisonment, voting rights and wages. While most Black Americans acutely felt these issues, many white Americans were insulated.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact
Previously, there had been protests and riots over the killings of Black Americans by law enforcement. The 2014 killing of Michael Brown, the 2014 killing of Eric Garner, the 2015 Charleston church shooting, and the 2017 Charlottesville rally received headlines yet did not lead to systemic change or as wide a level of support. However, the videos of Floyd's death and police violence at protests resonated with many white Americans. White people have attended the George Floyd protests and continuing related protests in greater numbers than they had prior protests of killings of Black Americans by law enforcement.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Public opinion
By mid-June, American national culture and attitude towards racial injustice began to shift, including the Senate Armed Services Committee's approval of process to rename military facilities named for Confederate generals. American public opinion of racism and discrimination shifted in the wake of these protests. Polling of white Americans showed an increased belief in having received advantages due to their race and increased belief that Black Americans received disproportionate force in policing. Public opinion in support of the Black Lives Matter movement greatly increased, with a surge of "am I racist" searches and a greater approval for removing Confederate statues and memorials. However, support for the Black Lives Matter movement declined by August and September 2020.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Public opinion
The increased approval of racial justice reform may have been influenced by opposition towards President Donald Trump's support for police, greater understanding of disparate pandemic effects by race, and a weakened sense of security following the COVID-19 pandemic's social distancing and an economic fallout with the COVID-19 recession. Others had grown accustomed to protest under Trump or were responding to his racial views, agitation and "demagoguery" or handling of the pandemic. Some white Americans reported feeling more social permission from other white people to support Black Lives Matter, whereas it would have felt conspicuous prior.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Public debate
Faced with civil unrest, politicians fulfilled promises to remove Confederate symbols. Activism spread to other Confederate symbols, especially the modern display of the Confederate battle flag. NASCAR banned its display, and organizations including Walmart and the NCAA announced that they would no longer fly the Mississippi flag, the last state flag to include the symbol. The state also voted to retire the flag. The removal of symbols caused national debate over the appropriateness of statues of figures tied to racial injustice.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Public debate
Public backlash widened to other institutional symbols, including place names, namesakes, brands and resignations.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Public debate
Examples include Rhode Island removing "Providence Plantations" from the state's formal name, plans to remove the Native American below a sword from the Massachusetts state flag and seal, Princeton University renaming its Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs,  household products such as Aunt Jemima syrup, Uncle Ben's rice and Cream of Wheat pledging to review racial stereotypes in their marketing, music groups including the Dixie Chicks and Lady Antebellum changing their names to remove references to the Southern United States, and the Washington Redskins pledging to change its name following pressure from business sponsors and a 12-year advocacy campaign.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Public debate
Some firms in the music industry also phased out the term "urban music" and a social media debate considered whether the United States should change its national anthem based on a verse that some historians interpret as supporting violence against slaves. Companies that had donated to Black Lives Matter causes without addressing internal diversity issues were criticized on social media. Leaders in the media and entertainment industries were also criticized over their handling of racial issues, as were other celebrities and actors. Debates continued across corporate leadership, media organizations and other cultural institutions. Researchers also went on strike in support of the movement.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Public debate
Public conversations on race and power extended to other cultural practices. One debate addressed racial vocabulary. Hundreds of news organizations modified their style guides to capitalize "Black" as a proper noun in recognition of the term's shared political identity and experiences. Merriam-Webster modified its definition of racism. Some real estate and technology organizations reconsidered and replaced words and phrases with similarities to discriminatory terms such as "master bedroom" and "whitelist"/"blacklist", which also encompassed "master/slave" distinctions in technology and also situations which refer to the master as the opposite of a copy.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Public debate
Journalists at major American newspapers contested their own coverage of the events. In the music industry, the BMG Rights Management announced it would reevaluate its record deals for race-based compensation disparities. Major record labels began searches for diversity officers and the Black Music Action Coalition formed to address industry racial inequities. The major sports channel ESPN began to air political commentary, reversing a longstanding mandate to separate sports from politics. College athletes led boycotts and a wildcat strike during the NBA playoff led to a work stoppage from other American professional athletes following the August shooting of Jacob Blake.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Consumer behavior
Anti -racist self-education became a trend throughout June 2020 in the United States, and Black anti-racist writers found new audiences. During the Floyd protests, Black-owned bookstores saw an influx of interest, especially for books on social justice topics. In the span of two weeks from early to late June, books about race went from composing none to two-thirds of The New York Times Best Seller list. Amazon sales saw a similar pattern. In comparison, no such surge happened after prior prominent Black Lives Matter demonstrations.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Consumer behavior
Popular Black authors included Ibram X. Kendi (How to Be an Antiracist, Stamped from the Beginning), Ijeoma Oluo (So You Want to Talk About Race) and Layla Saad (Me and White Supremacy). Bestsellers also include Black biographies and memoirs (Becoming, Born a Crime, Between the World and Me, Just Mercy), anti-racist books by white authors (White Fragility, The Color of Law) and older books (The New Jim Crow, The Fire Next Time). Online library checkouts of anti-racist literature increased tenfold by mid-June. Some municipal libraries saw waitlists in the thousands per title. Amazon's tracking of daily e-book readers and audiobook listeners reflected the increased readership, when many of the aforementioned books entered its most-read list.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Consumer behavior
American consumers sought out Black-owned businesses to support. June saw record high Google searches for "Black-owned businesses near me" and smartphone restaurant discovery apps added features for discovering Black-owned restaurants. Businesses on social media lists saw significantly increased sales. Black-owned bookstores in particular had difficulty meeting demand. There was also a social media and Facebook boycott on self-education.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Consumer behavior
Many major American corporations pursued anti-racism and diversity training workshops, particularly companies seeking to be consistent with their Black Lives Matter message. Demand for these trainings had grown over time, especially since 2016, and interest in diversity training bookings spiked during this period of reckoning. Robin DiAngelo, whose White Fragility topped the Amazon bestsellers list, rose to prominence during this time and was a popular speaker.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Analysis
The recent scrutiny on race relations in the United States brought comparisons to the Weinstein effect in which the Me Too movement put pressure on public figures for legacies of sexual assault, harassment, and systemic sexism. Similarly, the American public, under its racial injustice reckoning, pressured American industries to confront legacies of racism. The resulting symbolic divestments targeted white cultural hegemony. NPR wrote that renamed landmarks and similar gestures would not provide economic opportunities or civil rights, but signaled cultural disapproval towards symbols associated with racial injustice, including the history of racism and slavery. The New Yorker compared the dispersed national response to an "American Spring" on par with the Arab Spring and other international revolutionary waves. Global protests also focused on symbols of racial injustice, with The New Yorker also having a part on international solidarity towards police violence.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Firearms
The unrest precipitated an unprecedented number of firearm sales in the United States. Background checks for legally purchased firearms reached record highs starting in May, with year-on-year numbers up 80.2% and running through the rest of the summer. This represented the highest monthly number of firearms transfers since the FBI began keeping records in 1998.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Firearms
In May 2020, firearms retailers surveyed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation estimated that 40% of their sales came from first-time gun buyers, 40% of those first-time gun buyers were women. Gun sales have been up across the country. A rise in first-time gun buyers in liberal-leaning states like California has helped fuel the national uptick in firearms and ammunition purchases. June 2020 represented the largest month of firearms purchases in United States history, with Illinois purchasing more firearms than any other state.


2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Social impact, Firearms
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), in the last days of May and the first week of June 2020, there were more than 90 attempted or successful burglaries of gun stores, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). More than 1,000 guns were stolen in that window of time. On May 31 alone, the BATF reported 29 separate burglaries targeting licensed firearm retailers.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe
The 2020–2021 Vendée Globe was a non-stop round the world yacht race for IMOCA 60 class yachts crewed by only one person. It was the ninth edition of the race, which started and finished in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France. The race began on 8 November 2020, with the first finishers completing the course on 27 January 2021 with the 25th and final yacht to complete the race arrived on 5 March 2021.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Report
With a record number of 33 starter and 25 finishers, there was also a record number of six female competitors. This race was exceptionally close with the first eight sailors separated by less than 24 hours and literally with 12 hours to go the winner was not determined. The reason for this was due to compression in the fleet caused by the weather systems in addition to the large number of competitive entries and some of the pre race favorites being amongst the none finishers.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Media Exposure
The international media exposure reached an all-time high in part due to the event being able to proceed during the COVID-19 pandemic due to its naturally isolative nature. With social mobility limited and large sectors of nations work force not working the race filled a void while other sport competitions were cancelled. The main spectator negatives happened at a national level with the race village not getting the usual hundred of thousands of visitors. The hardest thing for the international sailors was who could welcome them at the race finish with close family unable to attend, there was also reduced spectators and the race organisers made sure all the French competitors entered the finishing port during daylight hours to avoid the curfew restrictions.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Media Exposure
The international coverage was led by daily show broadcasts on YouTube, Daily Motion and Facebook with the English edition lead by Andi Robertson. The openness of the skippers to media varied, with Pip Hare and Boris Herrmann engaging extensively with online broadcast. There was also increasing media participation with the French skippers in the race. In terms of openness even at the front of the fleet the intentions of some sailors were open while others hid both sail plans and the extent of damage to the other boats until after the race finish.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Media Exposure
It had high-profile followers with French President Emmanuel Macron and the Crown Prince of Monaco engaging in the race and its media.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Media Exposure
Alongside the race for the fourth time a web based online routing game mirroring the race ran by Virtual Regatta this was the largest ever online sailing game with 1,000,000 unique users. It was won by French sailor Jean-Claude Goudon, who's user name was “tigrou26120,” finished in a time of 68 days, 22 hours, 16 minutes and 4 seconds.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Human Interest
The unique thing about the Vendee Globe is the characters involved due to the challenges. Sailors that waited to the last minute allowing them to secure sponsorship were Alexia Barrier, Ari Huusela and Pip Hare. Sailors had different objectives – from Ari Huusela on a lifetime adventure with the only aim to complete the race through to the long time challengers like Alex Thompson who had a win at all cost mentality.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Human Interest
Former winner Alain Gautier in post race explained how Benjamin Dutreux, Damien Seguin, Yannick Bestaven and Louis Burton were the few sailing their boats closest to their potential in terms of speed, but he also admired the approach of Boris Herrmann who had a more conservative approach.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Incidents, PRB sinking and rescue
A major incident occurred when  Kevin Escoffier (FRA) on day 22 of the race had a hull failure and he was rescued by fellow competitor  Jean Le Cam (FRA). He later described how the boat literally folded in half and he struggled to release the life raft due to the speed of the situation.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Incidents, PRB sinking and rescue
The sailors that were involved in the rescue were awarded time compensation by the International Jury for their assistance with the following


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Incidents, Hydrofoil damage
The introduction of hydrofoils to the 2016 edition of the race lead to their largescale adoption amongst the fleet. There was intense discussion about the cost, efficiency, vulnerability, sea keeping effects and structural implication of the development. Certainly their efficiency was shown with both "L’Occitane En Provence" and "Charal" sailing through the fleet and the foiler finishing in the top 3 position winning the short drag race to the finish.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Incidents, Hydrofoil damage
Both Thomas Ruyant and Charlie Dalin suffered hydrofoil issues that compromised their race. Boris Herrmann also suffered foil damage in his collision with a fishing boat although it could be argued the impact to the foils stopped the deck spreaders from breaking. The sinking of PRB and its links to foil is at present unknown but certainly the boat had undergone extensive modification to refit and Kevin described the way the boat accelerated before failing. Their benefits in a seaway was also questioned as was the ride given by semi foiling nature with sailors saying the fully retractable foil configuration had distinct advantages in extreme conditions.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Incidents, Rudder damage
On the third day Jérémie Beyou onboard Charal returned to the start to repair a damaged rudder due to a collision with a floating object, he started again 9 days 2 h 50 min after the initial fleet start. Pip Hare on Medallia discovered cracks to her rudder stock and replaced the rudder with a spare near Cape Horn. Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss retired with steering issues.


2020–2021 Vendée Globe, Incidents, Collisions
Boris Herrmann on Sea Explorer – Yacht Club De Monaco was 90 miles from the finish line when he hit a fishing boat causing extensive damage to the boat. Due to the proximity to the finish line he was able to finish the race. Sam Davies retired due to an impact with unidentified floating object.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes
The 2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, also called the Guerguerat crisis and Moroccan military intervention in Guerguerat is an armed conflict between the Kingdom of Morocco and the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), represented at the United Nations by the Polisario Front, in the disputed region of Western Sahara. It was the latest escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, which is largely occupied by Morocco, but 20–25% of which it is administered by the SADR. The violence ended a ceasefire between the opposing sides that had held for 29 years in anticipation of referendum on self-determination that would have settled the dispute. Despite the establishment of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara in 1991, the referendum was never held.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes
Tensions between Morocco and the Polisario Front deepened in mid-October 2020 when Saharawi peaceful protesters blocked a controversial road connecting Western Sahara to sub-Saharan Africa. The protesters camped on the road near the small village of Guerguerat, where it passes through a 5-kilometer-wide buffer strip monitored by the UN. Despite the controversy, the route had grown in economic importance, such that the protest stranded about 200 Moroccan truck drivers on the Mauritanian side of the border. According to the Sahrawi authorities, the Moroccan forces were deployed near the area in early November, with Mauritanian forces reinforcing their positions along its border with Morocco, which is controlled by the Polisario Front.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes
On 13 November, Morocco launched a military operation from the Berm into the demilitarized buffer strip of Western Sahara to clear the protesters near Guerguerat and restore the free movement of goods and people. The Polisario Front urged the United Nations to intervene, noting that the Moroccan military operation violated the ceasefire agreements of the 1990s, and furthermore accused the Moroccan security forces of shooting at unarmed civilians in the buffer strip. Morocco denied there had been any armed clashes between the sides and said the truce remained in place, while SADR authorities declared the ceasefire over.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes
Clashes spread that same day along the Moroccan Berm, with Morocco claiming that it had repelled a Sahrawi incursion near Al Mahbes. The SADR declared war on Morocco the next day. Since the beginning of the conflict, both countries have begun mass mobilisation and the SADR Ministry of Defense claims to be bombarding military objectives along the Moroccan Berm daily. It is the first major clash over the region since 1991.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Background
The disputed region Western Sahara is a sparsely-populated area mostly comprising desert territories, situated in the Maghreb region of Africa's northwest coast. The region was a Spanish colony until February 1976, when the Spanish government informed the United Nations that it withdrew from the territory.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Background
Since then, the region has been the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Morocco, supported by a number of its prominent Arab allies, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and the Saharawi Republic (SADR), an African Union member state established by the Algerian-backed pro-independence Polisario Front, which is recognized by the United Nations as the legitimate representative of the indigenous Sahrawi people.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Background
Some commentators have connected Morocco's interests over the region with the idea of Greater Morocco, which encompasses Western Sahara and parts of both Mauritania, Mali, and Algeria, and according to the narrative, was divided up by the French and Spanish colonizers. Morocco, claiming Tindouf and Béchar provinces, invaded Algeria in 1963, resulting in the brief Sand War, which ended in a military stalemate.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Background
While the Polisario Front had waged a low-intensity war of national liberation against Spanish colonial authorities since May 1973, the Western Sahara War began in October 1975, just weeks before the death of long-time Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, when Moroccan and Mauritanian forces, aided by France, invaded the Spanish colony. While Mauritania withdrew from Western Sahara and recognized the Saharawi Republic early in the conflict, by the end of the war Morocco had obtained control of more than two-thirds of the vast desert territory in its western part, along the Atlantic Ocean.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Background
During the war, between 1980 and 1987, Morocco built six mostly sand barriers some 2,700 kilometres (1,700 mi) long, and in 1988, both Morocco and the Polisario Front agreed to a UN Settlement Plan, approved by the UN Security Council on 29 April 1991, called for a referendum, which would ask the Sahrawis to choose between independence or integration into Morocco, to be organized and conducted by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). After the war, on 6 September 1991, an UN-brokered ceasefire was signed, promising a referendum on self-determination to the Sahrawis.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Background
The United Nations has recognising the area as a non-self-governing territory since 1963; it is also the only African territory on the list, making the Western Sahara the last African territory subject to decolonization. Despite the efforts, the planned referendum has been repeatedly delayed ever since then; Morocco had refused the terms of the referendum, citing its dissatisfaction with who was allowed to vote, while tens of thousands of Moroccans have emigrated to the region since the 1970s.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Background
Guerguerat is a small village located on the southern coast of the region, along the Moroccan National Route 1 leading to Mauritania, some 380 kilometres (240 mi) north of Nouakchott, in a buffer zone patrolled by MINURSO; UN's envoy to the region, Horst Köhler, resigned in mid-2019 for health-related reasons. The Polisario Front considers the road illegal since they say it was built in violation of the ceasefire.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Background
Tensions yet again deepened between Morocco and the Polisario Front in mid-October, when unarmed Sahrawi refugees from Tindouf, Algeria (where Polisario-administered refugee camps house about 100,000 Sahrawi refugees) passed through SADR-controlled territories to camp on and block the road in protest of what they called the plunder of Western Saharan resources from the Sahrawi people, creating a large caravan of vehicles and blocking traffic in the region. Morocco, which regards the region as vital to trade with sub-Saharan Africa, accused the Polisario Front of infiltrating the buffer zone and "carrying out acts of banditry" in Guerguerat.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Background
The Moroccan authorities also stated that the Polisario Front was harassing UN troops at the crossing, though the UN denied this. In early November, around 200 Moroccan truck drivers appealed to Moroccan and Mauritanian authorities for help, saying they were stranded on the Mauritanian side of the border near Guerguerat, and adding that they didn't have access to drinking water, food, shelter, or medicine, with some suffering from chronic illnesses.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Background
According to Jeune Afrique, Morocco first appealed to the United Nations to resolve the conflict peacefully, and that although the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, approved this request, the situation was not resolved. Guterres himself likewise said that he had launched numerous initiatives to evade an escalation in the buffer zone, but his efforts had failed. On 8 November, Polisario Front authorities stated that Morocco was deploying a large number of police and other security forces near Guerguerat. On 12 November, Mauritanian forces reinforced their positions along border Polisario Front-controlled territories bordering Mauritania.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Course of the conflict, 2020
The clashes erupted on 13 November, when the Moroccan forces launched an offensive on Guerguerat to seize control of the road passing by the village, which was blocked by around 50 Sahrawi activists. According to Sahrawi sources, the Moroccan forces violated the ceasefire by penetrating the demilitarized zone, crossing the Moroccan Western Sahara Wall in three different directions. The Moroccan authorities stated that they had acted in self-defence, after a Sahrawi attack on Al Mahbes, and launched an offensive to restore free circulation of civilian and commercial traffic in the area. Later in the day, the Polisario Front stated that its forces fired upon four Moroccan bases and two checkpoints along the security wall. Then, the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces claimed full control over the Guerguerat border crossing.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Course of the conflict, 2020
On 14 November, the SADR declared war on Morocco. the Polisario Front then stated that its forces had launched attacks on Moroccan military positions near Bagari, Al Mahbes, and Guerguerat. Morocco denied that it suffered casualties.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Course of the conflict, 2020
On 15 November, more skirmishing was reported between SADR and Moroccan forces along the security wall, especially near Al Mahbes where Moroccan forces claimed to have destroyed an SPLA armoured vehicle.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Course of the conflict, 2020
On 16 November, MINURSO reported continued skirmishing along the security wall.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Course of the conflict, 2020
On 18 November, MINURSO reported harassing fire at points along the security wall.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Course of the conflict, 2021
POLISARIO soldiers fired four missiles Near a Moroccan-controlled border post at Guerguerat


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Course of the conflict, 2021
For the 43rd consecutive day, the SADR has claimed to attack Moroccan positions. The SADR Ministry of National Defense said they have carried out concentrated bombardments against Moroccan positions in Gararat Al-Firsik region, Mahbes sector. Along with intense bombardment in Um Dagan region, Al-Bagari sector; Ajbeilat Lajdar region, Guelta sector; and Lagseibiyin region, Farsía Sector.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Course of the conflict, 2021
On Tuesday, 9 February, the Polisario announced that it had killed three Moroccan soldiers the previous day in a specific attack in the Ouarkziz region of southern Morocco, near the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Contacted by the French press, the information was not denied by the Moroccan government.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Course of the conflict, 2021
A spokesperson for António Guterres, the United Nations' Secretary-General, addressed the situation in Western Sahara during a daily press briefing. According to a near-verbatim transcript, he said that MINURSO "continues to receive unconfirmed reports of sporadic firing across the berm."


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Course of the conflict, 2021
The Polisario head of the gendarmerie Addah Al-Bendir was killed by what reports claim to be a drone strike, while attempting raid on Moroccan positions along berm. Sahrawi Ministry of Defense reported the military commander's "martyrdom," confirming his death to AFP. However, moments after publishing the news in Saharawi news agency, the Sahrawi Ministry of Defense removed it from its official publication.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Non-military actions taken by Morocco and SADR
On 13 November, both Morocco and SADR introduced mass mobilisation. The SADR evacuated civilians from the Guerguerat area and introduced a curfew in the territories under its control.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Official statements
On 13 November, the Authenticity and Modernity Party, the Party of Progress and Socialism, the Popular Movement Party, and the Independence Party voiced their support for the Moroccan military intervention. The next day, the House of Representatives of Morocco issued a statement, stressing that the military intervention was legitimate.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Official statements
On 16 November, King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, stated that Morocco will take necessary measures to "keep order and protect safety and fluidity of passenger and commercial traffic in the border area between Morocco and Mauritania", adding that the UN for failed in its "laudable attempts to end the unacceptable acts of the Polisario". Also, Morocco's prime minister, Saadeddine Othmani, stated the operation led by the Moroccan forces was a strategic change to open the route in the Mauritania border.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Official statements
On 16 November, SADR's minister of foreign affairs Mohamed Salem Ould Salek stated that the end of the war was now linked to the "end of the illegal occupation of parts of the territory of the Sahrawi Republic", and that the war had started as a "consequence of Morocco's aggression and action in Guerguerat".


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Domestic reactions
On 13 November, Sahrawi sources stated that there were mass protests in Laayoune, the unofficial capital of Western Sahara, which is de facto administered by Morocco, against the clashes. The Moroccan media denied these claims, stating that the city's population was in support of the Moroccan forces, citing Laayoune's mayor. Despite that, the NGO media outlet Équipe Media reported that the Moroccan government was exercising a strong police force, and had arrested several activists. The next day, the same source stated that the Moroccan security forces had arrested several demonstrators in Smara.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Domestic reactions
On 14 November, some Sahrawi tribal leaders issued a joint statement in support of the Moroccan intervention to restore free movement in Guerguerat. More than fifty riders from the Moroccan Bikers Club and the Royal Petanque Club organized on 27 December until 3 January 2021 a trip from Casablanca to the Guerguerat border crossing in a way to express their support for the Moroccan army's move to secure the crossing.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, International reactions
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, and the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, expressed their grave concern over the conflict, with Faki stating "[ The] Saharan issue has gone on for a long time and it has become urgent to solve it as a case of decolonization in the first place and to support the UN efforts in this regard."


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, International reactions
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, stated that the EU was supporting the efforts of the United Nations to find a peaceful settlement for the conflict, per the Security Council resolutions, and stressing the insurance of freedom of movement in Guerguerat. The secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Yousef Al-Othaimeen, and the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Nayef bin Falah Al-Hajraf, stated that they support Morocco's efforts to what they called "securing freedom of civil and commercial movement."


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, International reactions
On 20 November, the Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, wrote a letter to the United Nations Security Council that called for "all the parties to uphold the Settlement Plan, which provides for 'a cease-fire' and the holding of a referendum for the people of Western Sahara to exercise their right to self-determination." The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization released a statement voicing its support for Western Sahara and condemned Morocco's "unlawful assertion" of sovereignty over Western Sahara.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, International reactions
Azerbaijan, Bahrain, the Central African Republic, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Jordan, Kuwait, Liberia, Oman, Qatar, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Turkey, Yemen (Hadi government), the United Arab Emirates and the United States voiced their support for Morocco, while Guyana withdrew its recognition of the SADR.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, International reactions
The Foreign Ministry of the State of Palestine, which has limited recognition, said it "does not interfere in the internal affairs of the brotherly Arab countries". Egypt, Mauritania, Russia, and Spain have all urged both parties to respect the ceasefire.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, International reactions
South Africa, Algeria and several other states backed the Polisario Front, accused Morocco of violating the ceasefire and urged the UN to appoint a new Western Sahara envoy to restart talks. Algeria also sent 60 tons of food and medical aid to the refugees in Western Sahara. On the other hand, Spain's second deputy prime minister Pablo Iglesias Turrión, Cuba, and Venezuela have stated that they supported the right to self-determination of the Sahrawis.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, International reactions, Minorities abroad
On 15 November, a group of Sahrawis staged a rally in front of the Moroccan consulate in Valencia, Spain. The protestors dismantled the flag of Morocco from the consulate, raising the SADR's flag over the building. Spain and Morocco condemned the incident.


2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes, Analysis
According to International Crisis Group's Portuguese analytic Riccardo Fabiani, the conflict could be a "potential breaking point that could have major repercussions", adding that the United Nations had been quite negligent towards this issue.


2020–2021 global chip shortage
The 2020–21 global chip shortage is an ongoing crisis in which the demand for integrated circuits (commonly known as semiconductor chips) is greater than the supply, affecting more than 169 industries and has led to major shortages and queues amongst consumers for graphics cards, video game consoles, cars, and other products that require semiconductors.


2020–2021 global chip shortage, Causes
The cause of the global chip crisis is a combination of different events with the snowball effect of the COVID-19 pandemic being the primary reason. Other causes have been attributed to the China–United States trade war and the 2021 drought in Taiwan.


2020–2021 global chip shortage, Causes, COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic is the main cause of the global chip shortage. Due to global lockdowns, chip production facilities were shut down, leading to the depletion of stocks. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more people had to stay at home and upgrade their electronic devices, such as webcams, monitors and computers in order to work from home and be entertained. In the fourth quarter of 2020, traditional computer sales saw a 26.1% growth over the previous year.


2020–2021 global chip shortage, Causes, China–United States trade war
In 2020, the United States government placed restrictions on Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), China's biggest chip manufacturer, which made it harder for them to sell to companies with American ties. These restrictions forced companies to use other manufacturing plants like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) and Samsung. However, these companies were already producing at maximum capacity.


2020–2021 global chip shortage, Causes, Taiwan drought
Taiwan is the leader of the global semiconductor industry, with TSMC alone accounting for more than 50% of the global market in 2020. In 2021, Taiwan experienced its worst drought in more than half a century, leading to problems among chip manufacturers that use large amounts of ultra-pure water to clean their factories and wafers. For example, TSMC's facilities used more than 63,000 tons of water a day, more than 10 percent of the supply of two local reservoirs.


2020–2021 global chip shortage, Causes, Renesas Electronics Corporation fire
A Japanese factory which supplies 30% of the global market for microcontroller units used in cars caught fire in March 2021. Renesas Electronics Corporation said it would take at least 100 days for them to get back to normal production.


2020–2021 global chip shortage, Impacted industries, Graphics cards and gaming PCs
The global chip crisis made it difficult to acquire a new graphics card, while an increase in cryptocurrency mining in 2021 increased the demand even more. Finding gaming PC components became more difficult and more expensive, and as gaming PCs rely on either AMD or Nvidia to make their discrete (sometimes called dedicated) graphics, both of those companies refreshed their lineups during the pandemic with popular new models that are next to impossible to find.


2020–2021 global chip shortage, Impacted industries, Video game consoles
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is speculated that people who stayed at home and wanted to be entertained increased the demand for video game consoles. With the release of the ninth generation of video game consoles coinciding with the pandemic, demand increased even further, with Sony warning that short supply of the PlayStation 5 console would continue into 2022, while Microsoft expected shortages of the Xbox Series X and Series S to continue until at least mid-2021. Both Sony and Microsoft use AMD chips manufactured by TSMC in their ninth-generation consoles, which puts extra strain on the supply chain. As supply problems persist, so-called scalpers are reselling the consoles on websites like eBay for 50% to 100% more than their retail price.


2020–2021 global chip shortage, Impacted industries, Cars
The average modern car can have between 1,400 and 1,500 chips, some even up to 3,000. Cars account for 15% of global chip production, while personal electronics account for around half. Chip revenues are even more skewed towards non-automotive sector.


2020–2021 global chip shortage, Impacted industries, Cars
At the start of the pandemic, car manufacturers incorrectly predicted that sales would drop, canceled chip orders, and were unprepared to meet demand. Chip manufacturers had more commitments from the tech sector, which reduced capacity for car chips. Ford parked thousands of unfinished vehicles at Kentucky Speedway as the company waited for chips to finish assembling those cars. Toyota planned to cut vehicle production worldwide by 40 percent in September 2021, while General Motors announced it would halt production of almost all cars at its North American plants for a week or two that same month. During the third quarter of 2021, there were only two-thirds as many new car sales in the United States as there had been during the same time period in 2020, as supply could not meet demand.


2020–2021 global chip shortage, Reactions
In February 2021, U.S. president Joe Biden signed an executive order trying to address the chip shortage by reviewing options to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain. Later in April, CEOs of major technology companies and U.S. government officials attended a virtual summit to talk about improving the resilience of the semiconductor supply chain.


2020–2021 global chip shortage, Reactions
In September 2021, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen trailed a forthcoming “European Chips Act” in her State of the Union address. It was announced that the European Union will use legislation to push for greater resilience and sovereignty in regional semiconductor supply chains.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland
The 2020–2021 Women Strike protests in Poland commonly called the Women Strike (Polish: Strajk kobiet), were anti-government demonstrations and protests in Poland that began on 22 October 2020, in reaction to a ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal, mainly consisting of judges who were appointed by the ruling Law and Justice (Polish: Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS) dominated United Right, which tightened the law on abortion in Poland. The ruling made almost all cases of abortion illegal, including those cases in which the foetus had a severe and permanent disability, or an incurable and life-threatening disease.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland
On the afternoon of 22 October, a wave of mass protests in opposition to the ruling commenced. In the biggest protest in the country since the end of the People's Republic during the revolutions of 1989, protesters opposed the interference of the Roman Catholic Church in public matters, and opposed the domination of all three branches of government by the ruling coalition.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Constitutional Tribunal abortion case, Background
On 7 January 1993, the Polish parliament passed the Law on Family Planning forbidding abortion, except if (1) the pregnancy poses a risk to the mother's life, (2) it is the result of a crime, or (3) there is a foetal impairment. In 1997, the Constitutional Tribunal headed by Andrzej Zoll ruled abortion on social grounds unconstitutional.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Constitutional Tribunal abortion case, Background
During the mid-2010s, about 80,000–200,000 Polish women carried out abortions (whether legal or illegal) per year according to the Federation for Women and Family Planning, or 8,000–13,000 according to the Polish Association of Defenders of Human Life. In the 2010s, about a quarter of all Polish women had terminated a pregnancy, according to Public Opinion Research Center in 2013, and Federation for Women and Family Planning in 2016.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Constitutional Tribunal abortion case, Background
Abortion rates around the world ranged from about 10 to 40 per year per 1000 women aged 15–44 in the 2000s, "in all regions of the world, regardless of the status of abortion laws", according to Sedgh, Singh, Henshaw and Bankole in The Lancet. The number of legal abortions in Poland was about 1,000 legal abortions per year in the 2010s.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Constitutional Tribunal abortion case, Background
Because the Lower House elects constitutional judges, since the United Right took power in Poland in 2015, PiS' domination has expanded onto the judicial branch. This domination led to the 2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis. The status of the tribunal continues to be disputed in February 2020 by some of its former judges and presidents.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Constitutional Tribunal abortion case, Background
In 2016, a citizen initiative was launched by anti-abortion movements such as Stop Aborcji [Stop Abortion] to tighten restrictions on abortions. It collected 830,000 signatures, forcing the Polish Parliament to discuss it. As the bill advanced further in parliamentary discussions, the All-Poland Women's Strike launched a protest movement branded "Black Protest" that attracted international coverage. After a few days, the PiS government let the bill die in committee.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Constitutional Tribunal abortion case, Background
The anti-abortion groups then started to oppose the constitutionality of the existing abortion law. Following the 2019 election, 119 members of the newly elected Sejm, coming from the PiS, Confederation, and Polish Coalition parliamentary groups, submitted a referral to the Constitutional Tribunal on whether or not abortions of pregnancies unrelated to rape or not threatening the mother's life, which they call "eugenic", are constitutional. In July 2018, a wave of nonviolent demonstrations for 3 weeks against an abortion ban started and led to the withdrawal of the bill. In December 2019, a muzzle law was created and sparked popular and widespread street protests for 2–3 weeks until it was withdrawn.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Constitutional Tribunal abortion case, Background
The signatories argued that this provision violates Constitutional protections of human dignity (Article 30), the right to life (Article 39) or the prohibition against discrimination (Article 32). During the year, the Constitutional Tribunal heard or received arguments and legal interventions on the question, one of which the European branch of the American Center for Law and Justice planned to submit.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Constitutional Tribunal abortion case, Background
By 2020, fourteen of the Constitutional Tribunal's fifteen judges had been appointed by the Sejm since the 2015 return of Law and Justice to power. Its domination over all branches of power has created a political crisis that has led the European Commission to refer Poland to the European Court of Justice.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Constitutional Tribunal abortion case, Ruling of unconstitutionality
In an 11–2 decision announced on 22 October 2020 and published on the next day, the Constitutional Tribunal ruled unconstitutional the provision of the 1993 Act permitting abortion when the foetus is predicted to have a "disability or incurable illness". The ruling found it violated the Constitutional protection of human dignity.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Constitutional Tribunal abortion case, Ruling of unconstitutionality
The ruling did not affect the other two cases of the existing law, meaning that pregnancy can still be terminated if (1) it is the result of a crime (rape or incest), or (2) the woman's life or health is at risk. In practice, the provision that was ruled unconstitutional represented the overwhelming majority of the 1,000 to 2,000 abortions legally done in Poland each year. In 2019, 1074 of the 1110 official abortions were, according to the Polish Ministry of Health, cases of fetal defects. Among these, 271 were for Down's syndrome without other anomalies, and 60 cases were for Patau syndrome or Edward's syndrome without other anomalies.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, October
Street protests began on 22 October 2020, following the ruling, and continued throughout the weekend. Street protests took place in 60 Polish towns on the night of 23 October, and again on 24 October. Protests took place in town centers, in front of PiS offices, and offices of religious administrations, as well as in front of the homes of both far-right activist Kaja Godek and politician Krystyna Pawłowicz.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, October
On 25 October, protesters staged sit-ins in Catholic churches. They held banners, throwing leaflets with postulates and women strikes symbols, disrupting Sunday Mass in several cities, including Katowice and Poznań, and churches across the country were vandalized.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, October
On 26 October, protesters in 150 Polish towns and cities participated.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, October
On 27 October, the All-Poland Women's Strike presented a list of demands: (1) fix the situations of the Constitutional Tribunal, the Supreme Court and the Ombudsman, (2) amend the budget – with more funds for health protection and assistance for entrepreneurs – (3) enact full women's rights – legal abortion, sex education, contraception – (4) stop the financing of the Catholic Church from the state budget, (5) end religious instruction in schools, and (6) enact the resignation of the government. Furthermore, they announced the creation of a Consultative Council, modelled on the Belarusian Coordination Council, a platform for dialogue to resolve the sociopolitical situation in Poland.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, October
On 28 October, there was a nationwide women's strike under the slogan "I'm not going to work" (Polish: Nie idę do roboty). Many workplaces and offices allowed their employees to take part in the protest. Besides universities, local media including Gazeta.pl, Gazeta Wyborcza, NaTemat.pl, and Newsweek Polska engaged in the protest by publishing editorials supporting the movement. Companies, including mBank, also joined. Far-right and nationalist militias violently removed protesters from churches. According to the Chief Commander of Police Jarosław Szymczyk, approximately 430,000 people participated in 410 protests across the country.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, October
On 30 October, around 100,000 people participated in a mass protest in Warsaw. Zoliborz, a district where Jarosław Kaczyński lives, was blocked by the police who did not let the protest reach his house.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
On 1 November, many protests were related to the Prime Minister's decision to close cemeteries from 31 October to 2 November, which affected flower producers and sellers (All Saints Day was observed that weekend). Flowers and candles were placed under PiS offices all over Poland. On November 2, the protests took place, among others, in Wroclaw.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
On 3 November, further demonstrations took place. Some of the demonstrations referred to the announcement made by the Minister of Education and Science, Przemysław Czarnek, concerning the consequences for teachers who were to encourage their students to participate in the protests. In Warsaw, the police intervened against two artists who undressed in front of the Presidential Palace as a form of support for the protesting women.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
On 6 November, a big OSK protest took place in Zakopane.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
On 8 November, the 15-metre-high steel Christian cross on the Great Giewont peak in the Tatra Mountains was briefly covered by a banner showing the OSK red lightning symbol and the text "Domestic violence is not a tradition." The banner almost completely covered the cross. Images of the cross covered by the banner were distributed on the Internet.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
According to Gazeta Krakowska, the context of the images was the fact that the Zakopane city council was the only local council that had not introduced legislative actions against domestic violence over the previous ten years, and it justified its decision on the grounds that the legislation would violate family traditions. In mid-2020, the cross had previously been used to display an election poster for Andrzej Duda and a rainbow flag representing LGBT rights.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
On 9 November, protests in Warsaw included protests against the new Minister of Science and Education, Przemysław Czarnek, with slogans including "We want education not indoctrination" and "Czarnek, go to hell" (Polish: Czarnek, idź do diabła, lit. ' Czarnek, go to the devil'). Cat and mouse games between police trying to block the protest and protesters changing paths occurred throughout the evening.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
The protesters called for Czarnek to resign, for the striking Teachers' demands to be fulfilled, for university autonomy, for "accurate" (Polish: rzetelnej) sexual education, for the removal of sexist, anti-LGBT and racist content from schoolbooks and the removal of religious instruction from schools. Several participants whose identities were checked by police refused to pay on-the-spot fines and one woman was thrown on the ground by police.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
At the 9 November Warsaw protest against Czarnek, a protester, Gabriela, spoke in defence of a woman who was being interviewed by police. Gabriela stated to a police officer, "You're not behaving like a policeman!" and she "heatedly" discussed the situation of Polish police with him. She was detained overnight and charged under Article 226 of the Polish criminal code for insulting a police officer, and under Article 224 para. 2 for using "violence or a threat" to prevent a police officer from carrying out lawful action.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
On 18 November, 3000 police surrounded the Sejm, which was starting a new sitting, in preparation for an expected protest. OKO.press interpreted the high number of police to Jarosław Kaczyński's personal "trauma" induced by December 2016 protests at the Sejm, to Kaczyński's anger at police insufficiently controlling the October–November 2020 protests, and to senior police officials Jarosław Szymczyk and Paweł Dobodziej worrying about keeping their jobs despite Kaczyński's anger with the police. The police cordon around the Sejm made it difficult for members to access the building. According to member of Sejm Krzysztof Gawkowski, police used force against the deputy Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
The protest started at 18:00 local time near the Sejm. Protesters moved from the Sejm to Three Crosses Square, moved along nearby streets in central Warsaw and tried to regroup back at Three Crosses Square. Marta Lempart of OSK described the police as "Kaczyński's private security force, pretending to be police". The protesters continued to the Telewizja Polska (TVP) headquarters at 17 Woronicza Street. Slogans included "Let's block TV-PiS", "Minsk, Warsaw, same situation" and "Polish police are protecting a dictator". By 21:00, five protesters had been detained on Piękna Street near the Sejm.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
At 21:40, the police kettled the protesters in front of TVP headquarters. Member of Sejm Marcelina Zawisza unsuccessfully tried to persuade police to allow a mother with her child, passers-by, trapped in the cordon by chance, to leave safely. The police refused, stating, "No, because no." Police refused to say who was the officer in charge of the police action. Maciek Piasecki stated that police started using force "completely unprovoked". The protesters called for the police to allow them to leave the kettle. Police "blindly" pepper-sprayed the protesters.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
Plainclothes police officers attacked a group of protesters and beat a woman lying on the ground with an expandable baton. Plainclothes officers put on police arm bands and "hid behind" uniformed officers. Member of Sejm Magdalena Biejat showed her Sejm identity card and requested police to stop using violence. A police officer pepper-sprayed her in response. Franciszek Sterczewski and Monika Rosa, members of Sejm, were present. The police required protesters to go through identity controls in order to exit the kettle.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
On 19 November, a solidarity demonstration for a 25-year-old woman, Iza, detained during the protests in late October, started at 11:00 in front of the Warsaw Regional Court. A letter from Iza was read to the crowd. Police kettled 20 of the protesters. The police grabbed a protester, who they threw to the ground, dragged over steps and pushed into a police van. Natalia Broniarczyk of Aborcyjny Dream Team described the detention as "very brutal" including "pushing to the ground with knees". Protesters outside the kettle sat on the street to block the police van.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
Police brutally removed the sitting protesters, and detained around twelve. Members of Sejm Klaudia Jachira Monika Falej, present at the events, accused the police of escalating the conflict. A third set of detentions occurred when protesters blocked an anti-abortion bus. By 15:00, demonstrators shifted to Żytnia Street in a solidarity demonstration for the newly detained protesters.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
On 23 November, protests took place in Warsaw and around Poland, in Biały Dunajec, Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Lublin, Nowy Dwór Gdański, Podhale, Toruń, Wejherowo and Wrocław. In Warsaw, a protest against Science and Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek took place, with slogans including "Free abortion, free education" and "Minsk, Warsaw, same situation". Photojournalist and war correspondent Agata Grzybowska was detained during the protest while showing her journalist's identification. Journalists around her loudly informed police that she was a journalist. Police later alleged that Grzybowska had assaulted a police officer.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, November
A police van deliberately ran over the hand of a protester blocking the path of the van, breaking his bones. Grzybowska was released at 19:00, two hours after her detention. By 02:00 on 24 November, 400 journalists and photojournalists had signed an appeal calling for police to respect the freedom of the press and stop harassing journalists.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, December
On 13 December, protesters, including members of Sejm, marched in Warsaw from Roman Dmowski Roundabout at around midday and arriving at Kaczyński's house in Żoliborz at around 14:20 CET. The protesters ran and threaded through Warsaw streets and parks, frequently changing their route, bypassing a massive police presence of cordons and police vans.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Timeline, January 2021
Street protests restarted on the evening of 27 January 2021, hours after the Constitutional Tribunal ruling was formally published in Dziennik Ustaw. Protesters in Warsaw gathered in front of the Constitutional Tribunal on Szucha Avenue, then marched to the PiS headquarters. The street was cordoned off by police. The protesters returned to Dmowski Roundabout, where the protest ended. The mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, described the publication of the Tribunal ruling as "against the will of Poles".


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Aims
The initial aims of the protests were an expression of anger against the Constitutional Tribunal ruling and the defence of women's rights. These extended to a broader range of goals over the following days. On 27 October, the All-Poland Women's Strike summarised the aims from banners, slogans and protesters' discussions, stating that the aims of the protests included a return to the rule of law.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Aims
Further demands included full women's rights, legal abortion, sex education, and contraception; interpreting the Constitutional Tribunal's ruling as stated by the president of the tribunal Julia Przyłębska, as her personal testimony instead of a legal ruling; "the return of a real (independent) Constitutional Tribunal"; "the return to a neutral (independent) Supreme Court of Poland that is not controlled by PiS"; "the appointment of a real (independent) Polish Ombudsman, to succeed Adam Bodnar, who reached the end of his term"; and the overthrow of the rule of the Law and Justice party.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Aims
On 1 November, the All-Poland Women's Strike created the Consultative Council, to develop strategies to implement the aims of the protesters. The Council introduced its 20 members and their demands, which included abortion and full women's rights, LGBTQ+ community rights, removal of religion from schools, dealing with climate catastrophe, as well as taking care of animal rights, education, and health service. The Council demanded that money be redirected from church and PiS to health care, and demand that "the government increases healthcare funding to 10 percent within a week."


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Foreign solidarity
Demonstrations against the ruling and in support of the protests were organised in Amsterdam, Athens, Belgrade, Berlin, Bochum, Bristol, Budapest, Chicago, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow (in Scotland there were 14 solidarity demonstrations in total), Göteborg, Hamburg, Helsinki, Kyiv, Leeds, Leipzig, Lisbon, London, Luxembourg, Malmö, Manchester, Mexico City, Munich, Nicosia, Nottingham, Paris, Porto, Prague, Reykjavík, Sheffield, Sydney, Stockholm, Tartu, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Vienna, and others.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Tactics, Offensive language
One of the major tactics used by protesters was to use a wide variety of slogans using socially offensive language. The slogans from the first week of protests were deliberately vulgar, with protesters justifying the vulgarity as a response to the government and the Catholic Church's alleged lack of respect for women.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Tactics, Offensive language
Publicist Piotr Pacewicz of OKO.press collected and classified slogans into categories.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Tactics, Offensive language
His classification included: women's rights – "My body is not a coffin" (Polish: Moje ciało to nie trumna); political institutions altogether – "The government is not a pregnancy, it can be removed" (Polish: Rząd nie ciąża, da się usunąć); Jarosław Kaczyński himself – "Jarek, you shat yourself, get up" (Polish: Jarek posrałeś się, wstawaj), "The cat can stay, the government get the fuck out" (Polish: Kot może zostać, rząd może wypierdalać, a reference to Jarosław Kaczyński's cat); the Catholic Church – "Fuck yourself in your own organs" (Polish: Napierdalajcie we własne organy); and PiS itself – "Fuck PiS" (Polish: Jebać PiS);  along with a humorous mix of politeness and vulgarity – "Could you please fuck off" (Polish: Bardzo proszę wypierdalać).


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Tactics, Citizens' legislative initiative
On 12 November, twelve women's' groups and women members of the Sejm created a committee to write a citizens' legislative initiative Legal abortion without compromises (Polish: Legalna aborcja bez kompromisów). Women parliamentarians included in the committee included Wanda Nowicka, Katarzyna Kotula, Katarzyna Ueberhan, Monika Falej, Katarzyna Kretkowska, Joanna Senyszyn, Magdalena Biejat, Marcelina Zawisza and Joanna Sheuring–Wielgus. The aim was that the draft bill should legalise and decriminalise abortion. As of 12 November, the limiting week within pregnancy to which abortion would be allowed remained open to debate.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Tactics, Citizens' legislative initiative
Natalia Broniarczyk of Abortion Dream Team stated that it was "finally time to trust [women]" who "took a responsible decision concerning their health and life" and that no restrictive anti-abortion law would prevent women from making their own decisions. Marta Lempart of OSK stated that it was possible to falsely claim that anti-abortion law prevented abortions, to pretend that the cost of abortions was unknown, and to pretend to have no friends of friends who had had abortions, but that the Catholic Church and right-wing politicians were responsible for the lies, while the women activists supported reality.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Protests, Tactics, Strike plan
On 11 November, Klementyna Suchanow of OSK stated that the government had failed to increase the health budget to ten percent of the GDP within the Consultative Council's one-week deadline. To obtain the increase in the health budget to ten percent, a general strike was under negotiation for early December with the medical community. Suchanow described the situation in the health services as "dramatic", "nearing armageddon", and "falling apart".


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Government response
The national public prosecutor Bogdan Święczkowski stated that the protest organizers might face charges of "causing danger to the life and health of many people by causing an epidemiological threat". Education minister Przemysław Czarnek also threatened to cut the funding of universities which supported the protests.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Government response
After two team members of the Polish Institute in Tel Aviv took part in protests and held signs reading "Jews also fuck PiS" (Polish: "Żydzi też jebią PiS"), ambassador Marek Magierowski gave them the option of either resigning or facing disciplinary action.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Government response, Jarosław Kaczyński's statement
Jarosław Kaczyński, who is considered Poland's de facto leader (he previously held the posts of Prime Minister and president of PiS, then Deputy Prime Minister), issued on 27 October a statement in which he called for the "defence of the churches, Poland and patriotism", stated that "the authorities have the full right to oppose these protests" and called "all PiS members and our supporters" to "defend [the churches] at all costs" (Polish: Musimy ich bronić za każdą cenę). Kaczyński also said that the protest were in violation COVID-19 restrictions in place. Kaczyński's speech was compared to Wojciech Jaruzelski's address declaring martial law in 1981. Many commentators and journalists interpreted the speech as a call for civil war and a declaration of war on society, based on Kaczyński's expression "at all costs".


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Government response, President Andrzej Duda's statement
In an interview with Polsat News, Andrzej Duda stated that he understands the women who protest and said that while he is opposed to "eugenic abortion", he thinks that work has to be done regarding situations in which fetal defects are lethal and that in this regard the right to choose should remain. He further stated that the physical defence of churches should be the role of the police and not counter-demonstrators.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Government response, Parliamentary response
The coalition partner of PiS, the Agreement party, published a statement calling for introducing precise legal provisions concerning the protection of what they referred to as an "unborn child" with Down syndrome and the mother's right to make decisions in "very rare cases of incurable lethal defects" of the foetus.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Government response, Bill proposal
On 30 October, President Duda unveiled a bill prepared by his cabinet. He said "I am counting on a broad political consensus on this matter" and expects it to defuse the tensions He explained that "after the enactment of this bill, there will still be three grounds for legal abortion in Polish law: [1] because of a threat to the life and health of the mother, [2] because of rape or incest and [3] because of severe and irreversible damage to the foetus which leads to the death of the child".


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Government response, Bill proposal
The third case is detailed as such by the bill's draft: "Prenatal tests or other medical indications indicate a high probability that a child will be born dead or burdened with an incurable disease or defect leading inevitably and directly to the death of the child, regardless of the therapeutic measures applied."


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Government response, Delayed publication
On 3 November, the government announced that it intended to delay  the publication and implementation of the controversial ruling. Warsaw University law professor Marcin Matczak called it "by far the worst option", and Anna Wójcik called it a "political decision", as Polish law requires judgements to be published in the Journal of Laws without delay. The Polish Government asked the Constitutional Tribunal a judicial opinion to help define the ruling exactly.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Government response, Delayed publication
On 26 January, the Polish Government published a communiqué explaining that, following the release of the Constitutional Tribunal's judicial opinion, both the ruling and the opinion would be published in the Dziennik Ustaw that day, with the new ban enforced the next day.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Government response, Military Gendarmerie
On 23 October, the prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki issued an order for the Military Gendarmerie to help the civilian police in the "protection of safety and public order" starting from 28 October 2020 (a nationwide women's strike was scheduled for that day). The cited justification for the order was the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. TVN24 commented that the order had to do with the protests. The Polish Ministry of Defence stated on Twitter that the Gendarmerie's policing role was "standard" and unrelated to the abortion rights protests.


2020–2021 women's strike protests in Poland, Government response, Military Gendarmerie
On 30 October, the Gendarmerie was deployed in front of government buildings and churches in Warsaw, including the Three Crosses Square, the palace of the Bishop of Warsaw, and the Holy Cross Church.