NEW YORK, June 4. /TASS/. Time Magazine has decided to honor 35 African American victims of racism on the cover of their latest edition dedicated to racism issues in American society which were highlighted after the death of George Floyd, an African American man, in police custody.

The magazine underlined in its special edition entitled ‘A Nation Torn’ that the current protests have spilled into something the country has not seen since 1968 when civil right activist and icon Martin Luther King was assassinated. "Protesters burned a police precinct in Minneapolis, torched cop cars in Los Angeles and Atlanta, and dodged plumes of tear gas from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Madison, Wisconsin," the article author wrote, adding, "the National Guard had been activated in at least 28 states, and dozens of cities had imposed curfews to quell looting, arson and spasms of violence."

"For 2.5 months, America has been paralyzed by a plague, its streets eerily empty," the article reads. "Now pent-up energy and anxiety and rage have spilled out. COVID-19 laid bare the nation’s broader racial inequities. About 13% of the U.S. population are African Americans. But according to CDC data, 22% of those with COVID-19, and 23% of those who have died from it, are black." Citing the Pew Research Center, the magazine noted that around 44% of African Americans lost their jobs or had their wages dropped, while 73% said that they don’t have enough savings to cover unexpected expenses.

The magazine claims that US President Donald Trump only exacerbated the already tense situation. "Since the start of his term, the President has turned the Oval Office into an instrument of racial, ethnic and cultural division," the author wrote, recalling that Trump addressed the situation using the phrase "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." "Given the tone from the top and the grassroots anger, it’s a surprise this confrontation didn’t come sooner," Time concludes.

Widespread unrest has engulfed many US states over the death of an African-American Minneapolis man named George Floyd, who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck and choked him to death during his arrest. On May 26, all officers involved in the deadly arrest were fired. On May 29, the policeman in question, Derek Chauvin, was arrested on third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. However, on June 3, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison upped the charge against Chauvin to second-degree murder. The three other officers involved in the fatal incident were arrested as well and are now facing charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

To counter the riots, local law enforcement is often supported by the National Guard. So far, 40 cities, including New York, have enacted a curfew.