Surfers in California joined together to stage a paddle out in honour of George Floyd as protests over his death continue to convulse the United States.
Hundreds of people gathered at Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas to take part in Wednesday's ceremony, a gesture typically reserved for marking the death of a member of the surfing community.
Before the paddle out began, those in attendance held a long moment of silence lasting eight minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time Mr Floyd was pinned down for by a white police officer before dying.
The surfers also spelled out "unity" with their boards before taking to the waves after the pause for reflection.
Justin Wilkenfeld, co-founder of Kindhumans, one of a number of local organisations involved in organising the event, said those attending wanted to "unify for everybody".
"We need to remember who we are, we need to remember united we stand divided we fall,” Mr Wilkenfeld told Fox 5 news.
Danielle Black Lyons, co-founder of another local organisation, Textured Waves, meanwhile told the news organisation the event had brought together her "two loves".
"My culture and my surf community, bringing those two together and marrying them in a beautiful way in a tribute in the form of a paddle out, there's nothing more sacred than that,” she said.
The demonstration was held after authorities in Encinitas helped fast track a permit for the peaceful gathering, where social distancing and masks were still encouraged, Fox 5 reported.
Lifeguards told the news organisation it was the largest gathering they had ever seen without any kind of incident.
