PBS News Hour - Politics

As the United States grapples with widespread unrest after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, our fraught national relationship with race is again in the spotlight. How can we move forward from this moment? PBS NewsHour believes we should begin the conversation by listening to black Americans. For that, we turn to a variety of grassroots voices, newsmakers and thought leaders.

Mayor Muriel Bowser said on Thursday that she thinks "there is a legal question" about President Trump's ability to call out-of-state National Guard into the District of Columbia. Bowser joins Judy Woodruff to discuss how the city has seen protests at the White House swell "ever since peaceful protesters were forcibly moved" and how she sees the federal government encroaching on D.C.'s autonomy.

Long lines to enter stores. Anxiety about finding food on the shelves. Boarded up businesses and barren streets. Journalist and author Dawn Turner says this pandemic has afforded everyone the chance to understand what people who live in poor communities faced long before COVID-19. Turner offers her humble opinion on why we all need to make a connection between the pandemic and the protests.

As protests over the death of George Floyd continue in cities nationwide, there were major developments Wednesday in the legal response to the case. Derek Chauvin, the officer who pressed his knee into Floyd's neck, is now charged with second-degree murder, while three other officers are accused of aiding and abetting a murder. Lisa Desjardins reports.

Elections were held in several states on Tuesday, even as the pandemic and major protests consumed the country. In Ferguson, Missouri, where protests first erupted in 2014 after the shooting death of Michael Brown by a white police officer, an African American woman was elected as the city's next mayor. For more results and analysis, Judy Woodruff talks to Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report.

President Trump has caused new controversy for his handling of a protest near the White House Monday night. Police began clearing people out from a peaceful demonstration in Lafayette Square before the citywide curfew took effect, firing gas with no apparent provocation. Trump then walked to St. John's Episcopal Church for a photograph. Yamiche Alcindor joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

With protests taking place in cities across the country, how should the federal government respond? Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota joins Judy Woodruff to discuss President Trump's rhetoric about the use of force, whether a peaceful protest near the White House Monday should have been interrupted as it was, the role of Congress in addressing racial unrest and federal pandemic aid.

We know from history that both peaceful and violent demonstrations can change the political landscape. Omar Wasow, an assistant professor in the politics department at Princeton University, studies the history and political effects of protest. He joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss.

The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the unrest that has followed has again put the spotlight on how police officers are prosecuted and how the justice system addresses racial bias and inequality. Kimberly Gardner, the top prosecutor in St. Louis who is now up for reelection, sued the city this year to push for criminal justice reforms. Hari Sreenivasan spoke with her to learn more.

Managing the lawful and peaceful protests that are continuing in Minnesota's Twin Cities while preparing for the possibility of more violence is the job of state and local authorities. St. Paul, Minnesota Mayor Melvin Carter joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss what his city's next steps are in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd.