Demonstrators places signs around the Monument of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, a former slave owner. Photo by Bessie Liu

One of the many organizers of Unite NY 2020 gathers the crowd. Photo by Bessie Liu

A police officer sits in his car observing protestors from a distance. Photo by Bessie Liu

Various organized groups gather at Washington Square Park. Photo by Bessie Liu

Protestors gather in Washington Square Park. Photo by Bessie Liu

Photographer asks demonstrator to pose for a photograph at the protest. Photo by Bessie Liu

Crowd leaves Washington Square Park. Photo by Bessie Liu

Demonstrator holds up artistic sign. Photo by Bessie Liu

Bystanders watch and film the protestors. Photo by Bessie Liu

Demonstrators march across the Brooklyn Bridge. Photo by Bessie Liu

Protestor uses a fire extinguisher as the crowd behind dances and cheers. Photo by Bessie Liu

Demonstrators stop in the middle of the Brooklyn bridge and begins to dance. Photo by Bessie Liu

Signs at the July 4 Protests. Photo by Bessie Liu

Demonstrators gather at DUMBO, their final stop. Photo by Bessie Liu

 

 

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Protestors prepare to march across the Brooklyn Bridge on Juneteenth. June 19, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Woman shows her support to protestors marching on Juneteenth. June 19, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Demonstrators march across the Brooklyn Bridge. June 19, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Protestor chants passionately at Juneteenth March. June 19, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Rodrick Covington, a broadway actor, guides the chants and music during Juneteenth march. June 19, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Protestors march through Brooklyn Bridge. June 19, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Demonstrator holding a sign which urges the government to defund the New York Police Department. June 19, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Protestors deciding which direction to turn after arriving in Manhattan. June 19, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

NYPD stands on sideways, watching protestors from a distance. June 19, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Teenager showing his support for Juneteenth protests. June 19, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

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The proposal for a national security law in Hong Kong was passed in Beijing less than a month ago creating uncertainty for what is to come in the autonomous region.

After being returned to China from the United Kingdom in 1997, Hong Kong was supposed to be ruled under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.

The law comes after a series of pro-democracy protests which started in March last year. Although the law is still being drafted, it is almost certain that it will give Beijing greater control over its special administrative region.

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Protestors kneel at Union Square. Photo by Bessie Liu

Man shares his story with NYPD. June 2, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Protestors raise their signs and fists to stand in solidarity with George Floyd. June 2, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Demonstrators gather at Bryant Park to stand in solidarity with George Floyd. June 2, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Protestors get ready to march around Manhattan. June 2, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

NYPD prepare for wave of protestors in front of Trump Tower. June 2, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Moments before protestors arrive at Trump Tower. June 2, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

 

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Many companies have vowed to suspend business operations. Their employees will be given time off work to partake in community protests. 

“We will be using this day to collectively reflect on what we as a company can do to put action towards change,” a statement in Atlantic Records social media read.

Floyd, 46, was an African American man who died from asphyxia and blood flow loss after Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for eight minutes. 

In an online statement, music executives Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang urged the music industry to reflect and show their support to the Black community. 

“The music industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry. An industry that has profited predominately from Black art. Our mission is to hold the industry at large, including major corporations and their partners who benefit from the efforts, struggles, and successes of Black people accountable,”the  statement said. 

Major record labels and music streaming services, including Atlantic Records, Spotify, Capitol Music Group, Vevo, and Warner Records, have been sharing the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused on social media. 

“As gatekeepers of the culture, it’s our responsibility to not only come together to celebrate the wins, but also hold each other up during a loss,” statements shared on various social media platforms read. 

Many celebrities and artists have also expressed their support for Blackout Tuesday and justice for George Floyd on their social media platforms. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

If you want to demand more charges brought on all those involved in the death of George Floyd, click the link in my bio to sign the petition.

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on May 29, 2020 at 8:13pm PDT

 

View this post on Instagram

 

#Repost @shadyrecords – We will be closed on Black Out Tuesday. Join us in fighting for change. #TheShowMustBePaused #BlackLivesMatter #BlackOutTuesday

A post shared by Marshall Mathers (@eminem) on May 31, 2020 at 8:55pm PDT

 

View this post on Instagram

 

#TheShowMustPause tomorrow.

A post shared by Kojo Ebro Odogwu (@oldmanebro) on Jun 1, 2020 at 7:28am PDT

Floyd was affiliated with the hip-hop community in Houston, Texas, where he was known as Big Floyd of the Screwed Up Click. Recently, a music track featuring Floyd has been resurfacing on the internet.

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She was assigned to a group with Sarah Weinflash, a 26-year-old production staff at a theatre company, and a few of her friends. Weinflash caught Dicken’s attention immediately.

“I thought she was kind of cute,” Dicken said. She began to make conversation with Weinflash and realized they had a lot in common. But their brief interaction was cut short when they were assigned to different bowling lanes for the rest of the night. Occasionally smiling and waving when they made eye contact, they never connected again because Weinflash had to leave early for work.

A week later, they met again at another event, “I was so excited because this girl who I thought was cute the week before was at this event too,” Dicken said. Once again, the girls were separated into different groups for games. “She left before we were able to like reconnect that night, and I was really bummed because two times in a row.” Dicken went home feeling miserable. However, Weinflsh got her number from a mutual acquaintance and texted Dicken. So it started: constant texts, coffee dates, dinner at their houses.

On the evening of March 7, after almost two months of romance, Dicken and Weinflash decided to make their relationship exclusive. A little over a week later, on March 20, New York City, the new epicentre of Covid-19, went into lockdown, and the couple has not seen each other since.

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing some young couples in their  twenties to change their approach to dating and romance and to find new, creative ways to maintain their relationships. Covid-19 has modified romance for couples at every stage of romantic life from partners who have been together for a while, to couples starting relationships, to singles just getting to know each other.

In a time of crisis, relationships can bring couples closer if they are focused on “being fully present with the people that they love,” said Christine Wilke, a licensed marriage and family therapist. She says that the pandemic has allowed some couples to develop a deeper understanding of their partners.

As the pandemic began to spread in New York, both women moved in to be with their families. Dicken, an adjunct professor, and a Ph.D. student is now working from home in Long Island; Weinflash, who was furloughed from her theatre job, is with her parents in New Jersey.

The couple has replaced face-to-face interaction with regular video calls. Dicken says that she’s “very thankful for modern technology,” as it has allowed her “to like see her face and hear her voice and talk to her and everything which is really nice.” Despite the ease of texts and video chats, Dicken reverted to one of the oldest forms of romance, writing a love letter. “I got a little old-fashioned and romantic and sent her a letter,” she said. “She loved it.”

While there are downsides to long-distance romance, what matters the most, Dicken says, is that “We still have each other, even if from a distance. I’m so grateful for that.”

Even when couples are physically apart, they can sustain emotional connections through with some technology assistance says Miriam Bellamy, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Colorado. “Just a small thing, like watching TV together,” she says.

That’s the strategy used by Daniela Cantillo, 24, and Dylan McDonough, 25, a couple who have recently been separated due to the coronavirus. Cantillo and Mcdonough met as students at Florida International University in 2016. Cantillo is self-isolating back home in Florida and McDonough in New York City.

The couple has been watching movies and TV shows together through Facebook video chat, starting and pausing the film at the same time, and then discussing the shows afterward. One of their favorite movies so far have been CoCo and Moana. They are currently watching “The Office” together, “I never saw it before, but he insists that I needed to,” Cantillo said. They also play online trivia and drawing games through a new video calling app called Houseparty with a few of their friends.

Cantillo and McDonough stayed good friends throughout college, regularly texting and calling before they realized they had strong feelings for one another. When Cantillo moved to New York City, where McDonough was located, to work at an Arts Non-for-profit more than two years ago, they decided to make the relationship official. Since then, Cantillo has gone back to school, currently completing a Master’s degree in International Affairs at the New School, and McDonough is working as a manager in sales at a stock media company.

The couple lived in separate apartments in Brooklyn and went on dates three to four times a week, often trying out new restaurants and bars. “I’m a huge foodie,” said Cantillo. The restaurant exploring days are over for now and she misses that aspect of their dating. “We can’t go on dinners anymore, share appetizers, and get a little drunk.”

The separation is not without its stresses with what Cantillo calls “a real coronavirus couple fight,” caused by her not paying attention to a movie that they were supposedly watching together. Despite their small quarrels, Cantillo thinks that their relationship will survive through this virus. “I went to Egypt for a month. The time difference was hard, but we still made it work,” Cantillo said. “It feels kind of nostalgic, a little bit like, it’s cute. To be put back into our long-distance roots.”

For other couples, COVID 19 has forced them to make decisive moves, such as living together sooner than they planned.

Dating for about a year, Erin Meskers, 25, and her boyfriend, Kyle Hodge, 27, saw each other at least four times a week, often sleeping over at each other’s apartments. Initially, the couple had planned to move in together in August. Yet, once the pandemic hit, they decided it was best for them to live together and to keep each other company during the self-isolation period. Meskers packed her things and moved into Hodge’s spacious, modern-looking apartment in Bushwick, who he shares with two other roommates.

The arrangement hasn’t quite turned out as the couple had planned.

“In the beginning, living together was not bringing us closer,” Meskers said. “I thought we were driving each other insane.” Little things like eating annoyed her. “I’ve been picking on him for chewing too loud,” Meskers said. “We’re not screaming at each other; we’re just getting more annoyed at each other.”

She blames the short tempers on being together 24 hours a day as both are working from home, Meskers as a brand partnerships and events coordinator at a cosmetics company, and her Hodge, 27, a staff writer at an online media company,  “It’s definitely been like a little bit of a roller coaster throughout the whole thing,” she said.

Wilke says this is not unusual. Relationships and marriage are “hard work.” She recommends that couples who are now spending a lot more time together because of the pandemic should “sit down and just map out a schedule,” and make sure they “create some personal time to recharge.” With any relationship, listening and communicating is the key.

In the case of Meskers and Hodge, living together has allowed the couple to have more conversations and to work on their differences. “I feel like it’s actually been more positive than negative,” Meskers said. Both schedule blocks of time alone, the couple spends every morning working on their own tasks and organizes time to call and virtually hang out with their own friends. In the evening, the couple cooks meals together. “That’s kind of been our favorite part of it, we used to eat out a lot and not cook, so it’s been fun to order groceries and make meals and baking cookies.”

Ultimately, for partners, separate or together, Bellamy stresses that “There’s something much bigger going on here. You don’t have to learn a new language; you don’t have to write your book. Take it easy. Let yourself relax. Perspective is the key to everything.”

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But now, as the warm spring weather graces New York City, Brooklynites who have previously been in isolating in their homes to prevent the spread of COV-19, have come out to enjoy the changing weather.

Prospect Park, the second largest park in Brooklyn which surrounds  five neighborhoods, has become a popular gathering spot for many.

NYPD parked in front of Grand Army Plaza at Prospect Park. May 10th, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Children playing kites with their father on Mother’s Day. May 10th, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Bikers exercising at Prospect Park on a sunny Sunday. May 10th, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Man standing on branches and dancing. May 10th, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Couple enjoys the sunshine on hammock. May 3rd, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Man following social distancing guidelines enjoying sunshine at park bench. May 10th, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

New Yorkers out to enjoy the sun on Mother’s Day. May 10th, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Signs reminding New Yorkers to remain six feet apart at all times. May 10th, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

Intersection of Fort Hamilton Parkway and Ocean Parkway which leads to the Machate Circle. May 10th, 2020. Photo by Bessie Liu

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