(American Greatness) — So far, United States embassies — in Spain, Cambodia, and Greece — have embraced the U.S. State Department’s guidance encouraging Black Lives Matter displays to mark the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death.
As reported in American Greatness on Monday, a memo signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States would be among “many in the international community” honoring Floyd, a career criminal and fentanyl abuser, on May 25.
The State Department guidance urged embassies to display BLM-related materials within the interior or exterior of the mission, including banners over doors, BLM spotlights, BLM projections, and BLM flags on flagpoles, according to the memo.
“ … this cable constitutes blanket written authorization to display the BLM flag on the external-facing flagpole during calendar year 2021,” the memo states.
“To mark the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, and to stand in solidarity with members of Black communities in the United States and around the world, the U.S. Embassy in Madrid displayed a banner today on our building’s façade affirming that Black Lives Matter,” the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Spain and Andorra announced in a post on its website.
Additionally, the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, hoisted the BLM flag in front of its building on Tuesday.
“The United States Embassy posted a Black Lives Matter flag on its surrounding gates today to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, an African American man who was killed by a white police officer in Minnesota on May 25, 2020,” the Khmer Times reported.
The United States Embassy in Athens hung a Black Lives Matter banner on Tuesday, marking the one-year anniversary of the killing of George Floyd.
“We raise this banner in honor of George Floyd, murdered one year ago today, in solidarity with people around the globe seeking a world without racial discrimination and a future with equal opportunity for all,” the embassy wrote in a post on Twitter.
We raise this banner in honor of George Floyd, murdered one year ago today, in solidarity with people around the globe seeking a world without racial discrimination and a future with equal opportunity for all. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/cVIkfH5Yra
— U.S. Embassy Athens (@USEmbassyAthens) May 25, 2021
The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, announced that it would be dimming the lights on its dome “in recognition of the work left to be done in pursuit of racial justice.”
Tonight, the lights on our Embassy dome will be dimmed in recognition of the work left to be done in pursuit of racial justice.
This work is challenging, but it is also vital to upholding our democratic ideals, and ultimately, it makes us stronger as a nation. pic.twitter.com/Pn4HbWizH4
— U.S. Embassy Ottawa (@usembassyottawa) May 25, 2021
U.S. embassies in Paris, Berlin, Mexico City, Moscow, Tokyo and Beijing — traditionally among our most important embassies — appear to be ignoring the Biden State Department’s call to honor George Floyd on May 25.
The vandalism and looting that followed the death of Floyd reportedly cost the insurance industry up to $2 billion, more than any other violent demonstrations in recent history. At least 25 Americans were killed during the unrest, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED).
Additionally, the radical organization’s “Defund the Police” agitation has led to a massive surge in violent crime throughout the nation.
No less an authority than former Attorney General William Barr last year characterized Black Lives Matter as “a revolutionary group” that agitates a far-left agenda using fascistic tactics.
“They are a revolutionary group that is interested in some form of socialism, communism,” Barr told Mark Levin on Fox News last summer. “They’re essentially Bolsheviks. Their tactics are fascistic,” he said.
“What the State Department doesn’t appear to understand — or maybe this is the whole point — is that the existence of BLM is a national humiliation to the United States. The rest of the world is watching; of course, we’re America,” Fox News’ Tucker Carlson said on his show Monday.
Last June, a large “Black Lives Matter” banner was draped on the front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, under the American flag, along with a gay pride banner. The banners were removed after they were brought to the attention of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, both of whom complained, according to reports. They were replaced with a banner commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War.
Update: The embassies in London and Sarajevo also displayed large BLM banners on Tuesday.
Today, one year after the murder of George Floyd, the U.S. Embassy paused for 9 minutes 29 seconds to reflect on the struggle for racial equality. We must confront hard truths & work harder in pursuit of core American ideals: equality & justice. – U.S. Chargé Yael Lempert pic.twitter.com/YJpEvmmvo2
— U.S. Embassy London (@USAinUK) May 25, 2021
Today marks a year since the brutal murder of George Floyd. The senseless killing spurred Black Lives Matter protests to demand an end to systemic racism, what @SecBlinken has called "a time of reckoning in our nation." pic.twitter.com/c2gPTVH1WF
— US Embassy Sarajevo (@USEmbassySJJ) May 25, 2021
Multiple U.S. embassies opted to mark the occasion by making statements on social media.
The U.S. joins many countries who are doing the difficult work of confronting systemic racism. We must partner with like-minded countries and civil society stakeholders to advance racial and ethnic equity by acknowledging and addressing the legacy of colonialism #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/A43H2gJAPB
— US Consulate Edinburgh (@USAinScotland) May 25, 2021
Today marks one year since the brutal murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Remembering this day forms part of our nation’s path as we strive towards a more perfect union. https://t.co/nDp8Ypuu7K
— U.S. Embassy Ghana (@USEmbassyGhana) May 25, 2021