The protesters just keep marching. In the wake of George Floyd’s death, killed by a Minneapolis police officer, Charleston activists have turned out in force to stand in solidarity with protests around the nation.
Protesters gathered in Brittlebank Park Wednesday afternoon for another rally and march. Before the large mass of people moved away from the public space and up Fishburne Street, organizers spoke about the importance of voter registration right now.
[content-1] “Don’t forget to vote for the people that are actually going to be running the police stations, the sheriff, all that stuff,” Cassie Campbell told the group. “Al [Cannon, Sheriff], you got to go, buddy.”
The group was also encouraged to support black-owned businesses and boycott businesses that haven’t supported the movement. “We need to stop being at these racist restaurants and entitled restaurants that think they can stay open during the protest, still serve their people during the protest,” Cody Dixon said.
When asked for businesses to support, the crowd began yelling out the names of black-owned restaurants like Dave’s Carry-Out, Hannibal’s Kitchen, Rodney Scott’s BBQ and EastSide Soul Food.
[content-2] This protest began just hours after three officers at the scene of Floyd’s death were charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. The officer who held his knee on Floyd’s neck until he died of asphyxiation was also slapped with an enhanced charge, second-degree murder.
One protester discussed the struggles between the police and the black community. “We are targets,” he said. “We are born and raised to think of ourselves as targets against the law that is meant to protect us. That breaks our hearts every day we walk around these streets. That’s what we are fighting for. George Floyd is the tipping point. We are not going back to normal. Normal before was the fucking problem.”
Just like in Monday’s rally, some protesters made a point of looking for unity with the police. “[In Summerville], they’ll be teaching little ones to hate the police,” one protester, Carlton Holland, said. “I understand where the frustration is coming from — I mean look at me. But what we need to be doing is making sure that they’re introducing themselves to those officers and have those officers introduce themselves to these children.” An officer stood next to Holland, leading to applause from the crowd.
Since Saturday, downtown has lit up with demonstrations, marches and protests from different groups. Protesters have been arrested, hit with tear gas and rubber bullets, following a series of vandalisms on Saturday night.
“I’ve been out here since Saturday and I know a lot of you have been out here since Saturday,” one protester told the group, addressing the last several days. “I know a lot of you have gotten arrested. A lot of us are hungry, tired, a lot of us got tear-gassed for no reason. A lot of us want to see the change.”
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