High school graduate wears cap and gown to George Floyd protest

Deveonte Joseph told CNN he decided to wear the cap and gown "to put positivity in the world."

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Class of 2020 graduate, Deveonte, poses for a photo using a building fire as a backdrop on University Ave W remarking "Some graduation this is!" in St Paul, Minnesota, U.S. May 28, 2020, during protests after African-American man George Floyd was fatally injured by police in Minneapolis (photo credit: REUTERS/NICHOLAS PFOSI)
Class of 2020 graduate, Deveonte, poses for a photo using a building fire as a backdrop on University Ave W remarking "Some graduation this is!" in St Paul, Minnesota, U.S. May 28, 2020, during protests after African-American man George Floyd was fatally injured by police in Minneapolis
(photo credit: REUTERS/NICHOLAS PFOSI)
Amid the protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd, recent high school graduate Deveonte Joseph, 17, decided to join the demonstrations while wearing his cap and gown, CNN reported. Joseph's graduation, like many around the world, was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Jospeh planned on taking pictures with his friends, but they decided to join the protests once he saw that they were occurring nearby.

Joseph told CNN he decided to wear the cap and gown "to put positivity in the world."
"People look at my people like we're down, like we don't have anything," he told CNN. "I just don't think we're respected enough," adding that he wanted to show that people like himself are achieving their goals.
Floyd died in police custody after then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd's neck while pinning him down. Chauvin was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The other three officers who were present at the time of Floyd's arrest were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and with aiding and abetting manslaughter.