Hundreds in downtown Edwardsville protest the death of George Floyd
Hundreds gathered Sunday afternoon in front of the Madison County government building to protest the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis on Monday.
By 4:30 p.m., roughly 250 demonstrators crowded the steps of the government and courthouse buildings downtown as an American flag waved above on the breezy 78-degree day.
No uniformed police were visible at the protest, which remained peaceful. It followed another metro-east protest Saturday in Belleville.
At roughly 7:45 p.m., a man drove by and yelled obscenities at the protesters from his truck. One bottle of water was thrown at the man, who drove off, and protest organizers reminded demonstrators to remain calm.
Floyd’s death has set off demonstrations in communities big and small across the nation. A video showed that Floyd, who was black, died after a white former police officer kneeled on his neck against the street pavement for nearly nine minutes. The officer has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Eric and Jakki Brown, a husband and wife from Edwardsville, decided to protest because “it takes every individual to step up,” said Eric Brown, 55.
Brown said he had never seen such a protest in his hometown. He was glad he could stand in solidarity with those protesting Floyd’s death, but he said he was also protesting other inequities in his community.
“I’m proud of my community,” Brown said. “But as a black man who grew up here in Edwardsville, there’s not enough black businesses.”
Edwardsville is a predominately white community, with a less than 12% black population. Brown said he would like to see more black representation in local government and in business. Jakki Brown said until that changes, equitable public policy won’t come about.
“We could do this once a day, once a week, once a month, but authority has to change,” she said. “We just want justice.”
Other demonstrators saw small glimmers of hope after watching nationwide protests on television. Jullisa Corley, 31, of Glen Carbon, said she “cried real tears” over Floyd’s death. Asked if she expected change in racist policing policies, Corley said, “Honestly, no.”
But she took heart in gestures from police in Ferguson, Mo., and Flint, Mich., where members of police department brass temporarily joined protesters.
“That made me feel a little good,” Corley said. “I think each time we chip away a little bit each time.”
Edwardsville Police Chief Jay Keeven said the peaceful protesters could stay out as long as they wanted.
“However long they’d like to stay out there to have their voices heard, they’re welcome,” Keeven said, adding about the video of Floyd, “We were saddened and sickened by what we saw in that video.”
Protesters came out despite the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. Beverly Adams, 64, of New Baden, said such killings “don’t have to keep happening,” which is why she risked going into the crowd.
“We need to listen to black people,” said Adams, who is white. “We need to have more black representation. We need to implement their suggestions because they live it, they breathe it and if we don’t listen to them, this will just keep happening.”
Adams said she hopes viral video of the killing will change white people’s minds about the existence of racism in policing.
“You could see his life slowly slipping away,” she said.
This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 6:46 PM.
