Thousands rally in Madrid against racial injustice

Protesters assembled in front of the US embassy in a show of solidarity with black American George Floyd, who died at the hands of a white police officer on May 25. From there they marched to Madrid's most popular square of Puerta del Sol.

Tens of thousands packed the square at the height of the protest, despite the city authorities banning gatherings of more than 200 people to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. They were joined by ethnic Spaniards and white American expats.

Demonstrators chanted "no justice, no peace," "black lives matter," and "no one is above the law" in Spanish and English. Many carried banners that read "racism is a pandemic too," "no more and no less that equal rights," and "Donald Trump is a criminal."

The rally was organized by the African and African Descendant Community in Spain, a recently created nonprofit, which said in a statement that racism against black people was a global phenomenon that was not limited to the US.

The organization accused the Spanish police of racial profiling. It estimated that black people were 42 times likelier to be stopped and frisked than other ethnicities. Racial discrimination pervades all spheres of life in Spain, it argued, from schools and the labor market to health care and other social services.