A shovel and a brush in his hand, Hope D'Ovideo, 22, picks up the damage from the day before in front of the White House: ashes and some debris, the last traces of the riots that followed the demonstrations against police violence and racism . Nearby, St John's Church, nicknamed "the church of presidents", is one of the buildings and cars affected by the fire. With another ward member, Hope took the lead to avoid being targeted again. "Free water and prayer", offers the sign next to them.
For the moment, calm reigns in Washington, the capital (where the curfew was brought in at 7 p.m. until Wednesday), even if the smell of smoke persists. Faced with the vandalized statues, the journalists put down their cameras, waiting for the next shock. No pro-Trump protesters either, as it sometimes comes here in battles over weapons or religion. "There are people who simply want the destruction of our nation and not justice for an unjustified violent murder", sighs however a quadra come to pray before the White House.
Death of George Floyd: clashes break out near the White House
Hope, a student in international relations, did not participate in the demonstrations this weekend: she was moving. But you have to be "radical," she says, to get things done. “Cleaning is my way of contributing, for lack of anything better,” explains the young white woman in the “Black Lives Matter” T-shirt. "I will place my body between the black demonstrators and the police if necessary because I am much less likely to be killed than them," she said, aware of her "privileges".
Sitting in the shade on a curb, James Teal, an African-American in his fifties, watches passersby. With his sign "No justice, no peace, stop racist police", this entrepreneur and activist willingly lets himself be photographed. He did not participate in the demonstrations of the previous day either: he prefers to take the time to be listened to "without the chaos around". If he's there, it's to prevent his two young sons from ending up like George Floyd.
"The system has clearly put blacks aside"
James Teal repeats it, he is "disgusted and tired of being disgusted and tired all the time" by these dramas which follow and resemble each other. "There is a serious problem of racism in this country, exacerbated by President Trump who is himself a provocative racist, and we must finally address it. As a black man in the United States, I shouldn't have to be here, protesting for a right that should have been mine since birth. "
This American racism, deeply rooted in the history of the country, challenges Alex Loembé, 26. As French and Black, this cybersecurity researcher for the American government, expatriate in Washington, lived the events of the previous day in a "quite anxiety-provoking" atmosphere. The death of George Floyd, "it's very serious", even if he considers that "breaking is not the best way to be heard". He says he "never had a problem" with the American police, but prefers to speak French in the event of identity checks.
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For him, comparing racism in the United States and in France does not make sense. “Black Americans have been there for centuries and the American system has clearly put them aside. It is not surprising that here we speak clearly of whites, blacks, races, because this society was founded on this differentiation. Their dialogue is much more open and raw, but they simply have no choice. "