Small group assembles outside Fairview Heights City Hall in support of BLM movement

Before planning a Black Lives Matter protest in Fairview Heights, Shawn Roddy didn’t consider himself anything other than a normal citizen.

“I’m not an activist or an organizer,” he said ahead of the Friday afternoon demonstration. “I’m just somebody who mobilized.”

By 2:15 p.m., just five people had showed up outside the government center for his planned event. It was small assembly, but Roddy said he wanted it to be Fairview Heights people.

Meanwhile, a group of 80 Black Lives Matter supporters rallied on the sidewalk in front of the Belleville City Hall on Friday. Motorists on Illinois Street honked their horns as they passed a peaceful line of demonstrators who held signs.

Protests and demonstrations have been organized nationwide following the death of George Floyd. In America’s biggest cities, massive congregations are gathering. Smaller communities, both in the metro-east and elsewhere, are seeing protests against police brutality and institutional racism, organizers have said.

Ten minutes before Roddy was set to start, he was alone. He stood by the road with his sign to let people know where to park. About a dozen passing cars honked their support. One woman hung out the passenger window of a car to clap and yell “Yes they do,” in response to Roddy’s “Black Lives Matter” sign.

One woman brought them bottles of water, said she appreciated what they were doing, and left.

“Often, you don’t see enough youth input,” said Xavier Williams, 20.

He and his brother, Elijah, 17, came after their dad told them about it. They want feedback, or at least acknowledgment, from the police.

“I coordinated with people from here. I didn’t coordinate with people from St. Louis. I coordinated with people from this community,” Roddy said.

This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 4:27 PM.