Outside the US consulate in Kraków and the embassy in Warsaw, candles were lit and bunches of flowers were laid to express solidarity with people of color, especially the African-American community. “Let's lay flowers and light candles in the memory of George Floyd, thus expressing our solidarity with his family and loved ones and with hundreds of thousands of Americans who have been walking on the streets of their cities for several days, demanding justice. We will show that we do not have our consent for the state’s racist activities,” appealed Kraków’s Americans and their friends on Facebook, a social networking site.

The US has been convulsed by nationwide protests over the death of an African-American man in police custody. George Floyd, 46, died after being arrested by police outside a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Footage of the arrest on May 25 shows a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd’s neck while he was pinned to the floor. Chauvin, 44, has since been charged with murder.

Violence has erupted in cities across the US on the sixth night of protests sparked by the death in police custody. Curfews have been imposed in nearly 40 cities, but people have largely ignored them, leading to tense stand-offs.

Riot police clashed with protesters in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, firing tear gas and pepper bullets to try to disperse the crowds. Police vehicles were set on fire and shops were looted in several cities. At least 4,400 people have been arrested over several days of protests, according to a tally compiled by the Associated Press news agency. The National Guard – the US reserve military force for domestic emergencies – said on May 31 that 5,000 of its personnel had been activated in 15 states and Washington, DC.

(BBC1, BBC2, Gazeta Wyborcza)