Sir — The suffering of black people in the United States of America never seems to end. The most recent incident occurred in Minneapolis where a police officer reportedly shot a 20-year-old black man, who later died. The family of the victim, Daunte Wright, said that he was shot by the cop before getting back into his car, driving away and crashing some time later.

This tragedy becomes even more marked given the fact that Minneapolis is where the former policeman, Derek Chauvin, is on trial for the killing of George Floyd, whose murder sparked a massive protest, in the US as well as in other countries, highlighting police atrocities against the black community. However, even though the protests gained support in the international arena, not much seems to have changed as far as the treatment of black Americans by the police is concerned. Systemic racism is not a problem that will be easily solved in a nation that was built on the foundations of slavery and slave labour.

Arijit Sen,
Calcutta

Sir — The name of Daunte Wright has now been added to the long list of names of black people in the US who have lost their lives owing to police brutality. Apart from George Floyd, other victims of such discrimination include Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice and Elijah McClain. Some of the slain were children when they were killed.

The US has had a black president, and now has a black vice-president. Representation at the highest levels of government, however, does not guarantee affirmative action on the ground. Unless the administration takes concrete steps to reduce the suffering of black people and protect them from discrimination, nothing will change.

Saumya Mitra,
Calcutta

Masked truth

Sir — It was horrifying to read that a mattress-making factory in Maharashtra was discovered to have been stuffing its products with discarded face masks instead of cotton or other material. Piles of masks were also found on the factory premises. These actions are outrageous at a time when the Covid-19 spike in the state and the country has been alarming. The culprits must be penalized.

Shreya Pillai,
Mumbai