Thousands of residents from Western Pennsylvania have joined demonstrations protesting racial injustice since George Floyd was killed in May while being arrested in Minneapolis.
Floyd was Black. Police officer Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes, is white. Chauvin faces murder charges.
The Tribune-Review has chronicled the protests since May 30. #TribProtestVoices, searchable on Instagram, is an attempt to provide a space for protesters to be heard on an intimate level.
Here are some of the faces in the crowd of thousands, the stories and voices that have been out protesting in the region.
Nate Smallwood | Tribune-Review
Nick Anglin, 18, of Penn Hills, poses for a portrait after demonstrating in Downtown Pittsburgh on June 16.
Nick Anglin, 18, Penn Hills
Nick Anglin, cofounder of Black, Young and Educated, took part in a June 16 protest in Downtown Pittsburgh in which 100 to 200 people marched through the streets. The protest ended after hours of marching, chanting and singing at the City-County Building on Grant Street, where Anglin took time to talk to a reporter about why he protests.
“I protest for everybody, for everyone that is Black, for everyone that is brown, for a better future. You know, I’ve grown up seeing Black men, Black women my age die. I’ve been seeing videos of them on social media. I saw Tamir Rice get shot. I saw Antwon Rose get shot. I’m on social media, and this is all I see. I was on social media the other day, and it said, ‘Tamir Rice would have been in my graduating class.’ He would have graduated with me today, but his life ended short. And it was something that is preventable.
“I protest for my comfortability, for my culture. I feel like I can’t even have pride in my Jamaican heritage because that makes white people uncomfortable. So I protest for everyone to feel welcome, everyone to feel comfortable and everyone to have a space.
“I’m hopeful things are going to change. I was around for the Antwon Rose protests. But this time around, I can speak for myself: I’m tired of seeing it. After seeing George Floyd, I’m tired of that. Breonna Taylor, I’m tired of it. Ahmaud Arbery, I’m tired of that. We have a president in office that makes white people feel comfortable enough to be blatantly racist and say things that are prejudice to other people and get no repercussions for their actions. And I’m tired of that. I’m tired of this being a white world. I need this to be a world for everyone. I need this to be a world for Black people, I need this to be a world for myself. A world where I can feel comfortable.
“Black people have a reason to be angry. They have the right to be angry. They have the right to tear down white property that invade their space. They have the right to do that because they’ve been discriminated against by these companies, by these people for years.”
Dillon Carr | Tribune-Review
Johnnie Monroe attended a rally outside East Liberty Presbyterian Church on June 3.
Johnnie Monroe, 78, Stanton Heights
Johnnie Monroe, a retired minister, stood outside East Liberty Presbyterian Church on June 3 with a sign for a peaceful vigil to honor George Floyd.
“I’ve seen the discrimination and the mistreatment of Black folk by white folk all of my life. I went to school in South Carolina, North Carolina. And I can remember Black folk who had knees and feet on their necks all my life. I was hoping that things were gonna to be better for my children. My son is 50, my daughter’s 47. Things have not changed. Now I’m standing for my grandchildren. And, seemingly, things are not changing for them. So that’s why I’m here.
“I hope we can at least raise some consciences. To let folk see that people should not just be murdered here and mistreated and miseducated and denied services merely because of the color of their skin. It seems to me that there’s a still a sense of white superiority, white privilege. I’m hoping that this will let folk know that all folk are created equal under our God Almighty.”
Nate Smallwood | Tribune-Review
Elena Alcaron, center, leads a group of protesters in Monroeville on June 9.
Elena Alcaron, 16, Turtle Creek
Elena Alcaron never expected the turnout she saw when organizing a rally June 9 in Monroeville.
“I only created the flyer a day ago. But Monroeville is always packed, so I expected we’d catch a lot of attention. I want people to hear all of our voices. What’s happening now is not normal, and it shouldn’t be happening. It’s not fair that Black people are killed for the color of their skin,” Alcaron said. The Woodland Hills High School student said she’d never organized a protest before. She expected maybe 70 to show up, but the crowd grew to around 250. The protesters shut down busy roads in Monroeville for hours on a 90-degree day.
When asked why she organized it, she said: “I don’t know. I guess I want people to see that it doesn’t matter the age you are, you can still be a leader. I think I can speak up for a lot of young people.”
Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review
Tanisha Long, a founding member of the Black Lives Matter Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania group, sits for a photo in Crafton on June 10.
Tanisha Long, 30, Crafton
Tanisha Long created a Facebook group June 2 focused on connecting Black Lives Matter activists and allies in Southwestern Pa. A week later, the group grew to nearly 4,000 people, organized a peaceful rally in Point State Park that drew hundreds and raised nearly $6,000 to buy books for minority children and ally parents. The group continues to promote Black Lives Matter rallies and protests on its Facebook page. It also continues to organize events in and around Pittsburgh.
“We all want to lead our own causes, be our own change-makers. But it would all be 100% impossible without the help of other minorities and white people. The goal is equality. So if we’re going to be on equal footing at some point, how can we do that when we’re already alienating them?”
Dillon Carr | Tribune-Review
Megan Delpriora, 33, and Anand Young, 43, both of Wilkinsburg hold up signs while protesting police brutality in Downtown Pittsburgh on May 30.
Anand Young, 43, Wilkinsburg
Anand Young came to Downtown Pittsburgh’s first protest in response to George Floyd’s death, holding a sign that read, “Is this the type of officer, human that you want to be?!” The word “officer” was crossed out. He said the question resonates with him because, if given the chance, he would ask all officers involved in lethal interactions with civilians.
“I’m tired of being tired. There’s really nothing more to talk about. I pray for the same change as everyone else. These police being charged? I’m skeptical with that, honestly. Because officers are never convicted. Ever. So I’m very fearful of that. I hope for the best, but reality has taught me a different story. I’m very fearful of that. So as far as change goes, I think it’s going to take more of this,” Young said, gesturing toward the crowd of thousands of protesters marching and chanting on May 30.
His girlfriend, Megan Delpriora, 33, also held a sign. It read, in caps: “I don’t see any American dream. All I see is an American nightmare.”
Dillon Carr | Tribune-Review
Brandi Fisher, of the Alliance for Police Accountability, speaks to a crowd gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway in Wilkinsburg about police brutality and racism on June 19.
Brandi Fisher, 44, Penn Hills
Brandi Fisher, president of the Alliance for Police Accountability, spoke before a crowd gathered under the overpass at the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway in Wilkinsburg on June 19. Her words were shared just before the crowd marched down Penn Avenue to mark the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, a commemoration marking the end of slavery.
“They make us think it’s OK, as soon you hear it on the news — that this young man — they thought he had a gun,” she said. “Well, tell me why a Black man is not allowed to have a gun? Tell me why. Tell me why a Black man can’t have a gun.
“I worry about my 25-year-old son every time he walks out the door. Every time he walks out the door. Because I wonder if they’re gonna say, ‘I thought he had a gun.’ Because he’s licensed … and he carries. And he’s allowed. But I’m fearful. I should not tell my son not to bear arms.”
Fisher advocated for House Bill 1664, legislation sponsored by state Rep. Summer Lee (D-Braddock) that attempts to amend an existing law that outlines when use of lethal force is justified during an arrest.
“The law justifies these killings. Officers know what to say … The thing we need is to stop the lying police officers that get away with murder. That is the only thing we need. We’ve had every story in the world. We’ve had every task force in the world — we need action. We need legislation, and we need systemic change.”
Dillon Carr is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Dillon at 412-871-2325, dcarr@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Local | Allegheny | Top Stories
"crowd" - Google News
June 25, 2020 at 04:33AM
https://ift.tt/2Vg3F0h
Faces in the crowd: Stories of the Western Pa. protesters - TribLIVE
"crowd" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YpUyMI
https://ift.tt/2KQD83I
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Faces in the crowd: Stories of the Western Pa. protesters - TribLIVE"
Post a Comment