George Floyd, a black man in the US, passed away unable to breathe as a white police official knelt on his neck. The incident -- which was caught on camera -- has left people across the world shaken, and let to large scale protests. While these protests began in Minnesota at the site of the crime, they have since spread across the US, and even to other countries.
Not only individuals, companies too have come forward to criticise the incident. Danish company, The Lego Group, well known for its interlocking plastic brick toys has recently paused digital advertising efforts for some toys.
While some reports had alleged that Lego had pulled police toys from circulation, the company took to Twitter to debunk this, stating that reports of some LEGO sets having been removed from sale were false.
"Our intention was to temporarily pause digital advertising in response to events in the US. We hope this clears things up," the company wrote.
Earlier, on June 3 the company had donated $4 million to "organisations dedicated to supporting black children and educating all children about racial inequality".
"We stand with the black community against racism and inequality. There is much to d," the short note put out on Twitter by the company adds.
But LEGO is not the only company to speak out in favour of the protests. Ice-cream company Ben and Jerry had recently taken to Twitter to led their voice to the 'Black Lives Matter' movement.
"4 years ago, in the wake of Ferguson, we felt compelled to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement. We’re heartbroken those words are just as relevant today. These racist and brutal attacks against our Black brothers and sisters must end. #JusticeForFloyd" the company tweeted on May 28, urging people to demand justice for Floyd.
In its statement titled, "Silence Is NOT An Option" the company added that it was "outraged" by the murder and the "continued violent response by police against protestors".
"The murder of George Floyd was the result of inhumane police brutality that is perpetuated by a culture of white supremacy. What happened to George Floyd was not the result of a bad apple; it was the predictable consequence of a racist and prejudiced system and culture that has treated Black bodies as the enemy from the beginning," the statement added.
