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In some instances -- from New Jersey to Michigan to Texas -- police officers even joined in the marches, walking alongside the protesters in a show of solidarity.

\"PHOTO:
Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo walks arm-in-arm with a woman during a "Justice for George Floyd" event in Houston, May 30, 2020.
>
\"PHOTO:
Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: A New York City police officer takes a knee during a demonstration by protesters in Times Square over the death of George Floyd at a rally on May 31, 2020 in New York.
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\"PHOTO:
David Ryder/Getty Images
PHOTO: Bellevue Police Chief Steve Mylett hugs a demonstrator during a gathering to protest the recent death of George Floyd, May 31, 2020, in Bellevue, Washington.
>

At many demonstrations, young protesters joined calls for justice for Floyd and powerful scenes of children showing support lit up social media.

\"PHOTO:
Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Children and adults march as they protest and mourn the death of George Floyd in Houston, May 30, 2020.
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\"PHOTO:
Martha Ascencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP
PHOTO: People shows their support for a Black Lives Matter march as it passes, May 31, 2020, in Tampa, Fla.
>

After news of looting and harm to businesses in some cases garnered more attention than the reasons behind the protests, demonstrators protected stores and urged protesters -- as angry as they were -- to remain focused.

\"PHOTO:
Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Protestors form a line in front of a CVS store to avoid people breaking the store windows during a rally in response to the recent death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis, in Miami, May 31, 2020.
>

In the daytime, bands of volunteers -- many of them reportedly also protesters -- pitched in to help clean up areas that saw vandalism or damage.

\"PHOTO:
Jack Gruber/USA Today Network
PHOTO: People gather for a community-wide grassroots cleanup, May 31, 2020, in Minneapolis, to secure buildings and clean up debris from protests sparked by the death of George Floyd.
>

Some protest leaders even implored crowds to adhere to local curfew restrictions to maintain peace.

\"PHOTO:
Philip Pacheco/Agence France-Presse/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Marie Moroe of San Francisco, Calif., pleads with demonstrators to leave the scene before curfew, during a protest over the police killing of George Floyd, outside City Hall in San Francisco, May 31, 2020.
>

Overall, while these moments may have been overlooked as violence broke out and as President Trump referred to protesters as \"thugs,\" hundreds of images from gatherings across the country indicated that most protests started as largely peaceful demonstrations.

Many organizers were seen simply kneeling, sitting or lying down in mass to draw attention to Floyd's death.

\"PHOTO:
Ben Margot/AP
PHOTO: A protester kneels before San Jose police, May 29, 2020, in San Jose, Calif., in response to the death of George Floyd in police custody on Memorial Day in Minneapolis.
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\"PHOTO:
Terray Sylvester/Reuters
PHOTO: Protesters laying on the ground chant "I can't breathe" at a rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Portland, Oregon, May 31, 2020.
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\"PHOTO:
Alex Brandon/AP
PHOTO: Demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd, May 31, 2020, near the White House in Washington, D.C.
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