The protests in the wake of the death of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody is also in response to the "vicious legacy of white supremacy," according to noted African American scholar and professor at the Harvard Divinity School Cornel West.

Not only is it a tragedy that the United States still experiences the level of racism which makes the murder of George Floyd possible, but if it's to change then all Americans have to make that change, according to Sen Cory Booker (D-NJ).

The outrage over the death of George Floyd this week in Minneapolis police custody is turning to justice--not only for Derek Chauvin, the white officer who had Floyd helplessly pinned to the ground as the 46-year-old African American Floyd died.

As protests and unrest continued in Minneapolis and across the country in response to the death of African American George Floyd in police custody, a growing number of US political figures across the political spectrum have been speaking out about the incident.

Institutional racism is at the root of why African Americans are many more times more likely to catch, and die from, COVID-19, according to Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

What has been on display in Lansing, Michigan last week (and in other state capitals since) is not life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness.

Public health professionals and government officials continue to tell Americans that the road back from the strict lockdown conditions and social distancing measures which have become a fact of life for most Americans in the fight to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, will rely on getting massive testing, tracking and contact-tracing programs up and running.

These changes and others increasingly give Virginia the face of a "blue state," which would have been nearly unthinkable even five to 10 years ago.

Whether women, LGBT Americans or DC residents, they all are seeking merely the same rights as their fellow citizens.

Friday's vote should ring clear as a bell that yes, Democrats are hard at work and particularly hard at work at protecting the civil and voting rights who need them most.