This article is one in a series at The 74 that profiles the heroes, victories, success stories and random acts of kindness found at schools all across America. Read more of our recent inspiring profiles at The74Million.org/series/inspiring.

Whether they were among the 10,000 who attended a virtual prom hosted by MTV and Michelle Obama or celebrated by dressing up at home and dancing virtually with their friends, the Class of 2020 would not be denied a prom.

I just put on my lamp upstairs so I could have some nice lighting, Makinde La Veau, dancing in his dining room at his schools virtual prom, told CNN. Im a senior. This is going to be my last prom, so I just want to make it fun.

La Veau, a senior at Eastern Technical High School in Baltimore, clearly knows what to do when life gives him lemons.

Were still alive, La Veau said. Life is like this, so as long as Im still here, Im going to enjoy it to the fullest.

In Sweetwater, Texas, Grayson Chapmans mother wasnt about to let her daughter graduate without a little prom fun.

Grayson thought it sounded a little cheesy at first. But she was so excitedto get to be able to dress up after all and go to her last prom, Jaci Chapman told Fox News. Once we started getting the porch decorated and cranked up the music, she really started getting into the spirit of it!

What a Great Idea ! All you need now is #VirtualPromLive Rocking out on the front porch is way better than partying

Posted by Virtual Prom onMonday, April 27, 2020

At Northwest High School in Jackson, Michigan, seniors Meg Moffitt and Chelsea Devolder made a video of their classmates wearing their prom dresses.

We wanted to make something for girls to show their dresses, Meg told JTV.TV, the school districts video news channel. Boys were invited, but we didnt get any of those. We had about 35 or 36 girls, though, so it was a good turnout.

In Knoxville, Tennessee, a local news outlet hosted a prom for high school seniors throughout Eastern Tennessee.

Hannah Lucas, 18, a senior at South Forsyth High School in Forsyth County, Georgia, and her brother Charlie, 15, a freshman, created the We Are Well Prom to help seniors feel less alone, NBC reported.

At the Vista Peak Preparatory School in Aurora, Colorado, social distancing didnt stop students from choosing prom royalty.

As for the prom Michelle Obama hosted, it was put on by MTV and When We All Vote, a nonprofit that aims to raise voter participation, People reported. Obama is co-chair of the group and wanted to ensure that COVID-19 doesnt cause the 18-year-old virtual prom-goers to miss out on another rite of passage voting in November.

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WATCH On Front Porches, in Backyards and Online, Amazing Class of 2020 Virtual Prom Celebrations From High Schools Around the Country - The 74

Weekend protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis brought out some of the worst in the nations cops.

Social media and television were flooded this weekend with video and reports of police aggression against protesters, journalists, and even politicians. Video footage showed cops tear-gassing peaceful protesters, pepper-spraying people, beating and shoving people, and even driving vehicles into them.

Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio, was pepper-sprayed after trying to de-escalate tensions between protesters and police and warning a Columbus police officer, Dont excite them.

Too much force is not the answer to this, Beatty said in a video posted on Twitter.

In Brooklyn, video captured on Saturday showed a police SUV pushed up against a barrier of people. As another police SUV went around it, both accelerated forward and knocked over protesters. After the video went viral, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio refused to condemn the cops, saying they were in an impossible situation.

In Los Angeles, a similar incident was captured on video, where a police SUV accelerated into a small group of protesters, then reversed and sped away.

Videos of cops shoving and attacking non-threatening protesters flooded social media this weekend. One of the most egregious was an incident where two black college students were tased and yanked out of their car in Atlanta. Two of the officers involved were fired and three others were placed on desk duty.

A video in Detroit showed officers shoving a man to the ground and yelling at unarmed, nonviolent protesters.

A video purportedly taken on Saturday night in Denver showed a police officer firing pepper bullets at someone whos filming, apparently causing the phone to explode in his face.

In Seattle, an officer was filmed kneeling on a protesters neck while arresting him, the same tactic which led to George Floyds death in Minneapolis.

And in New York on Saturday, a cop was filmed ripping a mask off of a protester who had his hands up, and then pepper spraying him in the face.

The New York Police Department said on Sunday that its internal affairs department was reviewing about six incidents from the past four days.

As curfews were instituted around the country, police officers were caught on video firing at people peacefully standing outside their homes or businesses. One video in particular showed police in Minneapolis firing paint canisters at people who were on their porches with no warning other than orders to get inside and one officer announcing, Light em up!

In Raleigh, North Carolina, cops fired nonlethal rounds at the owner of a queer bar who was standing outside his business, even after he shouted several times that it was his business. The game is over, one officer screamed.

In Minneapolis, VICE News reporter Michael Anthony Adams was thrown to the ground and pepper sprayed in the face, even after shouting repeatedly that he was a member of the press.

On Friday, cops shot pepper bullets at a Louisville TV news crew with no apparent warning.

At least a dozen journalists were injured during protests this weekend, according to the Washington Post. Photographer Linda Tirado was blinded in one eye when she was shot with a rubber bullet by a Minneapolis police officer.

Cover: Smoke rises near a row of police in riot gear near the 5th police precinct during a demonstration to call for justice for George Floyd, a black man who died while in custody of the Minneapolis police, on May 30, 2020.. (Photo by KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images)

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Driving Through Crowds and Firing on Porches: Cops Across the Country Were Out of Control This Weekend - VICE

Its a Monday evening in Minneapolis. Police respond to a call about a man who allegedly used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. Seventeen minutes later, the man they are there to investigate lies motionless on the ground, and is pronounced dead shortly after. The man was 46-year-old George Floyd, a bouncer originally from Houston who had lost his job at a restaurant when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Crowd: No justice, no peace. Floyds death triggered major protests in Minneapolis, and sparked rage across the country. One of the officers involved, Derek Chauvin, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The other three officers have been charged with aiding and abetting murder. The Times analyzed bystander videos, security camera footage and police scanner audio, spoke to witnesses and experts, and reviewed documents released by the authorities to build as comprehensive a picture as possible and better understand how George Floyd died in police custody. The events of May 25 begin here. Floyd is sitting in the drivers seat of this blue S.U.V. Across the street is a convenience store called Cup Foods. Footage from this restaurant security camera helps us understand what happens next. Note that the timestamp on the camera is 24 minutes fast. At 7:57 p.m., two employees from Cup Foods confront Floyd and his companions about an alleged counterfeit bill he just used in their store to buy cigarettes. They demand the cigarettes back but walk away empty-handed. Four minutes later, they call the police. According to the 911 transcript, an employee says that Floyd used fake bills to buy cigarettes, and that he is awfully drunk and not in control of himself. Soon, the first police vehicle arrives on the scene. Officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng step out of the car and approach the blue S.U.V. Seconds later, Lane pulls his gun. We dont know exactly why. He orders Floyd to put his hands on the wheel. Lane reholsters the gun, and after about 90 seconds of back and forth, yanks Floyd out of the S.U.V. A man is filming the confrontation from a car parked behind them. The officers cuffed Floyds hands behind his back. And Kueng walks him to the restaurant wall. All right, whats your name? From the 911 transcript and the footage, we now know three important facts: First, that the police believed they were responding to a man who was drunk and out of control. But second, even though the police were expecting this situation, we can see that Floyd has not acted violently. And third, that he seems to already be in distress. Six minutes into the arrest, the two officers move Floyd back to their vehicle. As the officers approach their car, we can see Floyd fall to the ground. According to the criminal complaint filed against the officers. Floyd says he is claustrophobic and refuses to enter the police car. During the struggle, Floyd appears to turn his head to address the officers multiple times. According to the complaints, he tells them he cant breathe. Nine minutes into the arrest, the third and final police car arrives on the scene. Its carrying officers Tou Thao and Derek Chauvin. Both have previous records of complaints brought against them. Thao was once sued for throwing a man to the ground and hitting him. Chauvin has been involved in three police shootings, one of them fatal. Chauvin becomes involved in the struggle to get Floyd into the car. Security camera footage from Cup Foods shows Kueng struggling with Floyd in the backseat while Thao watches. Chauvin pulls him through the back seat and onto the street. We dont know why. Floyd is now lying on the pavement, face down. Thats when two witnesses began filming, almost simultaneously. The footage from the first witness shows us that all four officers are now gathered around Floyd. Its the first moment when we can clearly see that Floyd is face down on the ground with three officers applying pressure to his neck, torso and legs. At 8:20 p.m., we hear Floyds voice for the first time. The video stops when Lane appears to tell the person filming to walk away. Get off to the sidewalk, please. One side or the other, please. The officers radio a Code 2, a call for non-emergency medical assistance, reporting an injury to Floyds mouth. In the background, we can hear Floyd struggling. The call is quickly upgraded to a Code 3, a call for emergency medical assistance. By now another bystander, 17-year-old Darnella Frazier, is filming from a different angle. Her footage shows that despite calls for medical help, Chauvin keeps Floyd pinned down for another seven minutes. We cant see whether Kueng and Lane are still applying pressure. Floyd: [gasping] Officer: What do you want? Bystander: Ive been Floyd: [gasping] In the two videos, Floyd can be heard telling officers that he cant breathe at least 16 times in less than five minutes. Bystander: You having fun? But Chauvin never takes his knee off of Floyd, even as his eyes close and he appears to go unconscious. Bystander: Bro. According to medical and policing experts, these four police officers are committing a series of actions that violate policies, and in this case, turn fatal. Theyve kept Floyd lying face down, applying pressure for at least five minutes. This combined action is likely compressing his chest, and making it impossible to breathe. Chauvin is pushing his knee into Floyds neck, a move banned by most police departments. Minneapolis Police Department policy states an officer can only do this if someone is, quote, actively resisting. And even though the officers call for medical assistance, they take no action to treat Floyd on their own while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Officer: Get back on the sidewalk. According to the complaints against the officers, Lane asks him twice if they should roll Floyd onto his side. Chauvin says no. Twenty minutes into the arrest, an ambulance arrives on the scene. Bystander: Get off of his neck! Bystander: Hes still on him? The E.M.T.s check Floyds pulse. Bystander: Are you serious? Chauvin keeps his knee on Floyds neck for almost another whole minute, even though Floyd appears completely unresponsive. He only gets off once the E.M.T.s tell him to. Chauvins kept his knee on Floyds neck for a total of 8 minutes and 46 seconds, according to the complaint filed against him. Floyd is loaded into the ambulance. The ambulance leaves the scene, possibly because a crowd is forming. But the E.M.T.s call for additional medical help from the fire department. But when the engine arrives, the officers give them, quote, no clear info on Floyd or his whereabouts, according to a fire department incident report. This delays their ability to help the paramedics. Meanwhile, Floyd is going into cardiac arrest. It takes the engine five minutes to reach Floyd in the ambulance. Hes pronounced dead at a nearby hospital around 9:25 p.m. Preliminary autopsies conducted by the state, and Floyds family, both ruled his death a homicide. The widely circulated arrest videos dont paint the entire picture of what happened to George Floyd. Crowd: Floyd! Floyd! Additional video and audio from the body cameras of the key officers would reveal more about why the struggle began and how it escalated. The city quickly fired all four officers. And Chauvin has been charged with second degree murder. Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were charged with aiding and abetting murder. But outrage over George Floyds death has only spread further and further across the United States.

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Facing Protests Over Use of Force, Police Respond With More Force - The New York Times

Over the past 72 hours, people across the US have captured what may be the most comprehensive live picture of police brutality ever. Any one of the videos weve seen could have sparked a national discussion, with people picking apart their elements, searching for context to argue about, and digging through the pasts of everyone involved. But its not just one act of violence. Its everywhere.

Here is just a short list of scenes from the past few days:

On Saturday, the names of several police officers allegedly seen perpetrating violence in different cities began trending on Twitter as people worked to cross-reference faces from videos with personal information on the web.

The violence appears so widespread and consistent that you could be mistaken for thinking its coordinated at a national level. To some extent, it is: President Trump has cheered on police violence like a fan at a sports event, and police departments across the country have styled themselves as military forces after receiving two decades of hand-me-downs from the War on Terror.

US cities face toll of violent protests, says a headline at the top of Fox News. Fury in the streets as protests spread across the US, says The New York Times. Fire and fury spread across the US, says The Washington Post. Wave of rage and anguish sweeps dozens of US cities, says CNN. But whose rage? Whose fury? Whose violence?

Heres another: ABC local news in Utah runs a graphic saying violent protests in Salt Lake City. In the background of the video, police knock an elderly man with a cane to the ground. He was simply standing near a bus stop.

We cant deny what we are seeing, and we must describe it accurately. Whose violence? Whose rage? Its from American police.

Warning: the images shown below are disturbing.

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Caught on camera, police explode in rage and violence across the US - The Verge

Tribal elders - I have landed beyond the demographic as a lifelong teacher and writer. I represent survival from generations of cultural chaos. Two decades into the new millennium I am a slugged WP white person told I was born into privilege and that I cant relate to the plight of people of color. One tribe, one time, one planet, one race/Its all one blood, dont care about your face Black Eyed Peas. Talking about my generation, Sam Cooke wrote and sang, A Change is Gonna Come (1964)at the height of the civil rights movement in response to racial injustices he experienced in his own life.Sam Cooke died as a result of gun violence in Los Angeles later that year. Marvin Gaye recorded Whats Going On, a song inspired by an incident of police brutality in Berkeley, Calif. Marvin died on April 1, 1984, one day short of his 45th birthday. He was shot by his father during a domestic argument. Otis Redding, The Mad Man from Macon, recorded Dock of the Bay in the mid-60s, a song about racism in America. Redding died in a plane crash in 1967 at the age of 26.When I was an emerging child running wild on the streets of Philadelphia, I never reflected on who I wasnt, and I think now at 74 years old, Im pretty sure who I am and who Im not. I am trained to pay attention columnist and teacher and its just my nature. Ive watched the current demonstrations turned riotous thinking of the lyrics of Gil Scott-Heron, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised recorded in 1970. I think in 2020, the revolution is being televised and I for one have no idea Whats Going On.

Teenage Targets - You know your life is out of control when youre looting a Target big-box store and your grandmother sees you on television.Speaking of reopening the country in phases, lets target teenagers on sports teams and just turn them loose; it seems justified as they were the first to be shut down. Unlock the chains and open thegates and grant access to the fields. There is no proof Im aware of that teenagers are super-susceptible to the coronavirus. Find one that tested positive and Ill make that person Athlete of the Week. And open the track as well. All the healthy people with the self-improvement gene will show up, and they can breathe on me any time they want, even heavily for runners that have really been missing me.

Name that dog - Susan and I married 51 years ago May 31. Our first jointly owned dog was a 1970 two-toned beagle named Maggie with a four-barrel carburetor and four-wheel drive. Puppies of the Pandemic is a human phenomenon social scientists never saw coming, just like the proliferation of the rescue network or fostering and my personal least favorite, rehoming retrievers and Rottweilers. Last year, I asked a veterinarian who may have been a vegetarian if she was aware that Delaware had an official state dog. No, what is it? she asked, chasing the ball. The rescue dog, I said, with sideways sarcasm. She responded, Give me a break. And I said, Rescues make great pets and create beautiful stories, but in downstate Delaware, its the retriever.Speaking of sports, the Labrador and golden retriever are the best and smartest dog athletes in the world. If your lab wears a bandanna and vest and walks at the end of a retractable leash, you are getting 40 percent of what the dog is capable of being. When I taught psychology, I did an entire unit I called Name that Dog because you cant understand American families unless you understand how they relate to pets and religion. Amazingly, neither of those two family mainstays are included in textbooks whatever they are.

Relatable quote - An email to the Delaware Interscholastic Football Coaches Association from John Wilson, head football coach at St. Georges Tech and a learning support instructor, states, DIFCA is in the process of creating guidelines for coaches to allow for a safe progression for the unacclimated, deconditioned athlete to start participating safely. Finally, an athletic category that aptly describes my current condition.

Chart stoppers - I dont convert charts to paragraphs because Im not afflicted with everything in its proper place syndrome. DIFCA is proposing to DIAA just for football you still there? that Delaware realign into three divisions, each of them with a North and South. Criteria taken into account are enrollment, record last three years and record last five years. The conference structure and divisional system currently in place in Delaware, a state thats 96 miles by 39 miles, just doesnt work well and needs streamlining,

Snippets - Coming this Friday in the Cape Gazette, digital interviews with five Cape coaches of fall sports, including J.D. Maull, Matt Lindell, Kate Austin, Pat Kilby and Tyler Coupe. Go on now, git!

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Prophet on the porch wonders 'What's Going On?' - CapeGazette.com

SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ After the coronavirus crushed her fairy tale wedding, Scotch Plains bride-to-be Rebecca Citarella is hosting a drive-in live affair on her family's front porch.

"The wedding is definitely not what I envisioned," Citarella said. "Every girl imagines the perfect princess day, but I am definitely excited and looking at it more for the excitement to start a new life with my fiance."

Citarella, 20, and West Point Cadet Brandon Fast, 22, met in August online, quickly fell in love and got engaged on Halloween. They were supposed to get hitched this past Saturday at West Point at the Cadet Chapel.

"It is this gorgeous chapel, very cool, like a castle," Citarella said. "The reception was also going to be up there near the Hudson Valley area with 250 people coming. It was going to be a big wedding. My mom was very excited."

Citarella said once the coronavirus hit, it was tough. It postponed Fast's graduation to this weekend, which Citarella can no longer attend. This caused the wedding to be pushed to June 24. It did, however, allow the couple to have a few months to be quarantined together.

"Of course, you want a nice, special wedding with limousines and everything else, but it is more important to spend this special time with the person you are marrying," Citarella said. "We are trying to make best of it. If we waited for the entire world to open up again, then we would never get married."

Creating their own special day, the couple will be transforming Citarella's childhood home into a romantic setting for family and friends to see the wedding ceremony. Citarella's parents are putting up lace as a backdrop, re-seeding the grass and planting flowers, and her father has taken on woodworking to build a cross and benches.

Citarella hopes to be able to close off a section of her street to be able to have guests watch the ceremony from their cars.

"Like a drive-in movie theater," Citarella said. "We will be following social distancing especially for my grandparents, who can't be exposed to anything .... They will still be able to park and watch the ceremony on the porch from their car."

With everything being canceled, the couple was unable to recoup a lot of their money from vendors such as the DJ, photographer, and more. However, Citarella said the town and residents have been "great."

Locals have donated flowers and other services to allow Citarella and Fast to still have their special day. A friend will be doing the photography, and they will use a playlist instead of a DJ.

"We are still looking for a cake," Citarella said. "We are just trying to do this in the most affordable way, since we lost a lot of money."

The backyard will serve as the space for the reception, with just the immediate families. Citarella does not know how many people will be allowed to attend, as the number allowed by Gov. Phil Murphy keeps changing. As of Monday, 25 people are allowed to gather.

"We don't know the circumstances and what to expect, but we still plan to do a first dance and speech. We want to do a livestream for anyone who can't be there," Citarella said.

Citarella recently had a Zoom bridal party with games. She said even though it was virtual, she was able to see people who live farther away who may have not been able to attend in person.

"We are definitely making the best of it," she said.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

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Scotch Plains Bride Hosts Drive-In Porch Wedding Amid Coronavirus - Scotch Plains, NJ Patch

It will be hot and dry today before low storm chances return to East Texas tonight. Highs this afternoon will be in the mid and upper 90s. Any storms tonight would be weakening as they approach the area from the north, and most locations will stay dry.

Today

Partly sunny, with a high near 94. Heat index values as high as 98. South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11pm and 2am. Mostly clear, with a low around 73. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 95. Heat index values as high as 102. Calm wind becoming east northeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 74. East northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 95. Light east wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Monday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8am. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Monday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest after midnight.

Tuesday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 96. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Tuesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 70.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 91.

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 64.

Thursday

Sunny, with a high near 92.

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Hopkins County Weather Forecast for June 5th, 2020 Front Porch News Texas - frontporchnewstexas.com

I usually read the Cape Gazette on the patio with my brother John, who lives next door to me in Pelican Point Long Neck, said Antonia Salandra Gonzalez.

Today I decided to read the paper on my front porch to enjoy the beautiful landscaping job that my sister in law, Mary Salandra, did for my husband, Tony and I. Its such a good,secure feeling to know you have family living next door to rely upon. I wish Mom and Dad were still alive to enjoy living in a beach community with us in Delaware. Life could not be better and when our families come to visit (pre-pandemic period) they would enjoy staying with all of us and traveling back and forth between the two houses. It is just like how it was when we lived in the house in The Bronx NY and the relatives came to see Grandma and Grandpa who lived with us in a two-family house. Everyone just flowed between both apartments. It is funny how life imitates the past!

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Enjoying the Cape Gazette on the front porch - CapeGazette.com

The phrase, come and sit a spell, invites family and friends to rest and relax in the company of one another. Particularly in the South, a welcoming spot to enjoy this time of reprieve is the frontporch.

Vicksburg Living, as part of the upcoming July/August edition, is searching for families and their front porches to be featured in the magazine.

During the past few months, not only have front porches become a beloved spot to unwind, but they also served as a means of appreciating the outdoors during shelter-in-place orders as part of the communitys response to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Vicksburg Post photographer Courtland Wells is scheduling appointments for families wanting to participate in what we are calling a community project. In addition to a photograph of families enjoying their porches; the magazine is asking those families, in their own words, to share what their homes front porch has meant to them during this pandemic.

For more information or to schedule an appointment call 601-636-4545. Those wanting to participate can also use the following link to register. Visithttps://forms.gle/d4E74PNwMFpAAEMu7to select a date and time.

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Vicksburg Living wants to feature community families and their front porches - The Vicksburg Post - Vicksburg Post

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The Porch restaurants to reopen in Pittsburgh area - TribLIVE