Drama Desk Awards Postponed in NY
Breaking News Events Cited as Reason.
By: Aaron Krause - May 31, 2020
Due to “breaking news events” in New York this weekend, “Spectrum News NY1″ and the Drama Desk organization postponed the Drama Desk Awards. Officials will re-schedule the ceremony. They had originally planned the broadcast for Sunday, May 31.
“The Drama Desk celebrates all that’s outstanding in the work of New York’s diverse theater artists and craftspeople,” Drama Desk Co-Presidents Charles Wright and David Barbour said in a prepared statement. “We regret the postponement of our awards ceremony tonight but, as an organization committed to the principle that all voices must be heard, we stand together with our black colleagues against the racial injustice and violence in our nation and city. We are grateful to ‘Spectrum News NY1’ for its comprehensive news coverage of this painful moment.”
On Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, Minneapolis police arrested and took to the ground 46-year-old George Floyd. Police reportedly suspected that the African-American used a counterfeit $20 bill to pay for cigarettes. While a handcuffed Floyd lie face down on a street, white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin allegedly pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Officials later pronounced Floyd, who reportedly battled coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease, dead at a hospital. Bystanders captured the incident on their smartphones. Later, it circulated on social media. The incident sparked violent protests, rioting and looting in several big cities. Protesters, who set structures ablaze, continue to demonstrate. Curfews remain in effect in those cities.
Prosecutors have charged Chauvin with third-degree murder and manslaughter. The 44-year-old former officer, whose employer fired him, is on “suicide watch” at the Ramsey County Jail in St. Paul, Minn, according to the “Daily Mail” newspaper. Chauvin faces up to 25 years in prison if a jury convicts him of third-degree murder.