Act of love: People cleaned Seattle streets in solidarity after protests
Joshua Trujillo, a Seattle photographer wrote on his Instagram page: "Early this morning a small army descended on downtown Seattle with brooms, shovels, paint remover, gloves and masks. Instead of smelling like tear gas, on Sunday downtown Seattle smelled like paint remover and cleaning chemicals. It was a powerful scene to witness."
Photographer Joshua Trujillo of Seattle documented the cleanup on Sunday, after a day and night of protests against police use of force on Black Americans.
In the last few days, a contrast has been made between those who protested and those who cleaned up afterward -- an implicit suggestion that demonstrators left a mess to clean up, and thank goodness for the crew who showed up to pick up the pieces.
But Trujillo's photos show something entirely different: Those who went downtown on Sunday did so for Black Lives Matter, as evidenced by the posters they secured to their backs. It was an act of love, and an act of protest as well: They would not let those who protested be tarnished as having created a mess.
One woman's sign read, "Racism caused this mess."
People cleaning up on Sunday morning in downtown Seattle wore signs that read "racism caused this mess" and "Black Lives Matter."
Seattle photographer Joshua Trujillo went downtown on Sunday morning to capture scenes of people cleaning up after the protests on Saturday night.
People descended on downtown Seattle on Sunday morning to scrub down the city after a day and night of protests against racism. The protests for were George Floyd, a Black man who died at the hands of police in Minneapolis.
Seattleites, including many families, headed downtown to support the protesters in the form of cleaning up after a hard night of demonstrations.
Wearing masks to protect themselves against the coronavirus, Seattle area residents descended on downtown on Sunday morning to clean up after the protests the day before.
Courtesy of Joshua Trujillo
Some of the people who went downtown on Sunday after the protests from the night before made it clear that they were not cleaning up as a criticism of those who protested against police violence the night before, but in support of their cause.
The inside of a store on Sunday morning, May 31, 2020, after a night of protests in Seattle. Photographer Joshua Trujillo went downtown to capture the cleanup effort.
Courtesy of Joshua Trujillo
The outside of a downtown Seattle retail store after a night of protests on Saturday, May 30. The protests were in opposition of police violence, and specifically the death of George Floyd at the hands of police.
Seattleites headed to downtown Seattle on Sunday, May 31, after protests the day and night before. The protests were to oppose racialized police violence, in particular the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of police.
People in downtown Seattle on Sunday, May 31, 2020, arrive with their own cleaning supplies to help tidy the city up again after a night of protests against racialized police violence. The protests were tied to the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of police.
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Isolde Raftery
Interim Managing Editor
Isolde Raftery has been the Interim Managing Editor KUOW since 2024. Previously, she was the station's Online Managing Editor.
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