Apr 11, 2017
Traders work on the floor of the NYSE. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images.
United States equities were on pace to open higher Monday following big gains in Asia and Europe and a risk-on bid in currency markets.
Why it matters: Stock markets could continue to rise despite an unprecedented global pandemic, violent protests over police violence in the U.S. not seen since the 1960s, and spiking tensions between the world's two largest economies.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown. Screenshot: Jaylen Brown/Instagram
There was a time when a months-long sports absence would have silenced athletes, leaving them without a platform to reach fans or make their voices heard.
Why it matters: But now that athletes boast massive social media followings and no longer need live game broadcasts or media outlets to reach millions, they're speaking out en masse amid protests over the death of George Floyd and other police-related killings of black people — delivering messages of frustration and unity, despite their leagues not currently operating.
Charging Alabama state troopers pass by fallen demonstrators in Selma on March 7, 1965. Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images
The ways Americans capture and share records of racist violence and police misconduct keep changing, but the pain of the underlying injustices they chronicle remains a stubborn constant.
Driving the news: After George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police sparked wide protests, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said, “Thank God a young person had a camera to video it."