People Are Coming Together Across The Country To Clean Up Neighborhoods After A Weekend Of Protests

This weekend saw an increase in both protests and violence, but many within the community chose to come together peacefully.

By
Kate Bubacz
by Kate Bubacz

BuzzFeed News Photo Director

The protests against police brutality that swept the nation for the past several days have been marked by cars burning, stores looted, and buildings graffitied despite calls for peaceful demonstrations. While the photos of the violence are shocking, it is also important to see that communities are joining together to rebuild. In Minneapolis, so many people came out to help that some areas were left spotless in a matter of hours. Here, we look at moments of cooperation and civic duty while, as a country, we grapple with important questions about race and equality.

John Minchillo / AP

Jessica Knutson, and her daughter Abigail, 3, place flowers at a memorial to George Floyd, May 31 in Minneapolis.

Javier Tovar / Getty Images

People carrying buckets of cleaning supplies get together to clean the neighborhood after a night of riots following protests against the death of George Floyd in Los Angeles on May 31.

Warrick Page / Getty Images

Volunteers with brooms and dustpans walk toward an area damaged by looting following protests over the death of George Floyd, on May 31, in Los Angeles.

Gene J. Puskar / AP

The glass from broken windows in a downtown Pittsburgh Starbucks store is cleaned up on May 31.

Ringo H.w. Chiu / AP

A volunteer sweeps up broken glass behind a shattered store glass door on May 31 in Los Angeles.

Elaine Thompson / AP

Volunteers clean graffiti off of windows in downtown Seattle on May 31.

Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

Cleanup workers remove debris following a protest in Minneapolis on May 31.

Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

Volunteers remove debris following a protest in Minneapolis on May 31.

Elaine Thompson / AP

Sara Dyel scrubs graffiti off of windows in downtown Seattle on May 31, following protests the night before over the death of George Floyd. Hundreds of people of all ages turned out in downtown Seattle to help clean up the damage, sweeping up broken glass and removing graffiti.

Elaine Thompson / AP Photo

Kazaria Snipes, 7, right, and her brother Kevon Avery hold boxes of donuts they were giving away to volunteers cleaning up downtown Seattle on May 31.

Lindsey Wasson / Reuters

Bridgette Allen smiles as passersby offer coffee to her and other community members cleaning graffiti the morning after demonstrations in Seattle, on May 31.

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Cleanup works continues in Minneapolis on May 31, 2020.

Jeff Chiu / AP

People with OccupyLove WorldWide clean graffiti off of windows following protests in Oakland, California, May 31.

Tom Brenner / Reuters

A person cleans off a wall spray-painted during protests near the White House, in Washington, DC, on May 31.

Nick Oxford / Reuters

People clean graffiti sprayed on the front doors of the Oklahoma State Capitol during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd, in Oklahoma City, on May 31.

Jeff Chiu / AP

People with OccupyLove WorldWide clean graffiti off of windows following protests in Oakland, California, May 31.

Jeff Chiu / AP

A woman sweeps up broken glass outside of a Daiso store in after protests in Emeryville, California, May 31.

Jeff Chiu / AP

A man paints over a boarded window next to an image of George Floyd in Oakland, California, May 31.

Christian Gooden / St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP

Ferguson, Missouri, resident Ted Heidemann cleans up a broken glass window in a building damaged during protests in the city, on May 31.

Tom Brenner / Reuters

People sweep up broken glass that was shattered during protests the night before, near the White House in Washington, DC, on May 31.

Nicholas Pfosi / Reuters

Minneapolis resident Andrea Stoesz cleans up outside the burned-out bar Nuevo Rodeo, destroyed during protests near the Third Precinct police station, May 31.

Lindsey Wasson / Reuters

Trip Leonard and Stacy Chagnon, center, give their daughter Hattie Leonard a leg up as they help clean graffiti the morning after a protest and rally in downtown Seattle, Washington, May 31.

Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

The words "peace" and "love" are spray-painted in colorful graffiti on either side of "BLM" in Minneapolis, on May 31.



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