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An Episode of an American Spring

The massive popular protests sparked by the killing of the black American citizen, George Floyd, by a police officer in Minneapolis, late in May, continues to gain a momentum enhanced by medium-intensity waves of political change. The movement calls for justice for black citizens, and regulating the use of physical violence by policemen during arresting or chasing suspects. Racial discrimination is an old social problem in the United States, which threatens the lives of black people and affects their access to political and economic opportunities as equal citizens.
The movement, with the slogan “Black Lives Matter,” has already succeeded in influencing decision-makers, in the United States and beyond, to amend legislations that allow policemen to use physical violence to control suspects during arrest. The movement has also encouraged film production industry to withdraw classic titles from American film libraries, such as "Gone with the Wind," because of scenes showing the practice of racial discrimination against black people, which was socially acceptable at the time of producing the movie.
The movement’s impact is not limited to the United States. Protesters in Britain and some European countries showed up on streets, forcing policymakers to make urgent changes to laws governing police systems. The news about the George Floyd protests has greatly alienated the overwhelming news about the spread of the Coronavirus and its devastating effects on the economic and social statuses of nations and individuals.
In the Arab world, the “Black Lives Matter” movement is, also, attracting a lot of attention. People, here, are gloating over the American popular movement with an overwhelming sense of dejavu. The gloating, which I despise, is emerging from a conspiracy theory adopted by many in the Arab world claiming that the United States is the mastermind of the series of revolutions known as “the Arab Spring;” and, thus, for them, the U.S. is responsible for Arab Spring’s damaging consequences; e.g. civil wars and empowering terrorist organizations, all over the region.
On the other hand, the sense of dejavu is, legitimately, aroused among Arab viewers, due to the extreme similarity between the iconic scenes of the George Floyd protests and the iconic scenes of the Arab Spring revolutions, that took place nine years ago. The National Guard deployment to streets and their cordial and sympathizing conversations with protesters, and the Muslim mass prayer in a New York street during protests, are two examples of many. Even, the incident of George Floyd killing by a policeman, which sparked the “Black Lives Matter” movement, is almost identical to the incident of killing the young Egyptian Khaled Said by a policeman, which sparked the Egyptian revolution in 2011.
Ironically, some of my fellow Egyptians called the George Floyd protests the “American Spring” and prospected the fall of the Trump administration. Actually, the fall of the regime was one of the trends that the democratic rivals of the republican President Trump attempted to leak into the movement. On the third day of the eruption of peaceful protests, paralleled by acts of riot and violence by an intruding anarchist group, the hashtag “America or Trump” was trending on Twitter. At the same day, famous democratic leaders issued media statements pointing at President Trump, and his republican agenda, as the main motivator for racial discrimination against the black people. That clearly unfair and politicized stance by the democrats is contradictory to the fact that racial discrimination is a historical challenge that is as old as the foundation of the United States. Over centuries, both democratic and republican administrations failed to totally end racial discrimination in America.
But, soon, the movement’s organizers realized that their endeavors may be doomed to failure if they do not exclude those trying to hijack the momentum of their protests. That does not only include the democrats, who are competing against Trump in the next presidential elections, in November, but also the Muslim Brotherhood organizations who are seeking to have an upper hand in their continued conflict with the police apparatus.
Excluding those trying to over-ride the protests with their own slogans and interests, while exclusively focusing on the main goal of the movement, is one reason why the protests are already succeeding in getting stronger and more influential. An equally important reason for the success of the “Black Lives Matter” movement is denouncing violence and showing high commitment to nonviolent discipline by the protesters. The nonviolent discipline has always been an essential factor in the success of nonviolent movements, American civil rights movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1950s.
The George Floyd protests shall come to an end, sooner or later, but their positive impact on the United States’ domestic policy shall remain for decades. In that sense, one can comfortably claim that the “Black Lives Matter” movement has initiated an episode of an American Spring.
Dalia Ziada
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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