Protesters marched along Illinois Street from the north entrance of Belleville’s city limit to the plaza in front of the St. Clair County Building, where leaders used bullhorns to ring out their message.
“No justice, no peace” was one of the calls to the crowd of both white and black protesters. “What’s his name?” with the reply of “George Floyd.”
Two others were “Am I next?” and “These racist cops have got to go.”
McKenzie “Mack” Slack, 20, one of the organizers of Wednesday’s protest in Belleville, said one of the reasons she wanted to support the Black Lives Matter movement is “because this is such a difficult conversation to have with people.”
Slack, a 2018 Belleville West High School graduate who is headed to Murray State University in the fall, said she began posting notices about the protest on social media Tuesday and was pleased with the turnout despite the temperatures in the high 80s.
“Even though we are angry, we have to stick together,” Slack said in an interview. “That’s what matters most.
“I’m really grateful for everything that’s going on today.”
From the steps of the courthouse plaza, Slack gave an impassioned speech to the crowd with the help of a bullhorn.
“Our children shouldn’t have to die this way,” she said. “George Floyd was somebody’s child. That man cried out for his mother.”
Slack said had not seen the video of Floyd’s arrest until Tuesday night.
“I finally brought myself to watch it last night,” said Slack, who tearfully recounted Floyd’s plea of “I can’t breathe.”
“I can’t breathe” shouts then rang out from the crowd.
“So please, when you go forward, don’t forget why you were here today,” Slack told the crowd. “Don’t let this be the last time you guys speak out. Do not stay silent.”
Wednesday’s march followed a protests Saturday in which about 100 people gathered on the Public Square and then a smaller one later in the day that was broken up by Belleville police.
Mariah Neal, 22, and Wesley Staten, 24, of O’Fallon participated in the second Belleville protest that was halted by police officers. Police Chief Bill Clay on Saturday said the second protest was stopped because protesters had interfered with traffic by getting on the fountain base and by demonstrating next to diners at the outdoor seating areas of East Main Street restaurants.
Neal and Staten attended Wednesday’s rally as well.
Both were disappointed with the way police stopped Saturday’s protest, but remained firm in their message.
“I came today because I feel like it’s important that I do my role as a human first and as a black woman to speak on the injustice that’s happening in our country,” Neal said.
“I felt like this was a good way to express the anger instead of going about in a different way like looting and rioting though I can understand where they’re coming from,” she said. “I want to do it in a peaceful, loving way.”
Staten, who is black, said he has experienced racial prejudice from white people since he was a youth. He said just on Saturday as he walked to his car after the protest, a white motorist yelled racial slurs at him.
“We know what people go through,” Staten said.
Monet Webster, who is the principal of Central Junior High School in Belleville, said she attended the rally because “it’s time” for racial equality.
“I look at my son and I don’t want to have a different conversation with my son than anybody else,” said Webster, who is black.
Kiersten Klein, 19, of Belleville explained why she marched Wednesday: “I’m here to amplify the black voices in the community.”
Klein, who is white, added, “This is a time they need us all the most and I want to make sure people of color are protected.”
A peaceful protest and march was held in Belleville over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Protesters marched from North End Park to the square in Downtown Belleville where they protested for several hours. Protests have been ongoing across the country and locally in the wake of Floyd’s death. Derik Holtmann dholtmann@bnd.com
A peaceful protest and march was held in Belleville over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Protesters marched from North End Park to the square in Downtown Belleville where they protested for several hours. Protests have been ongoing across the country and locally in the wake of Floyd’s death. Derik Holtmann dholtmann@bnd.com
Floyd’s death prompts protests
Floyd, a black man, died after a white police officer placed his knee on Floyd’s neck during an arrest on Memorial Day. A video recorded Floyd saying “I can’t breathe.”
Protests have been ongoing across the country in the wake of Floyd’s death.
Most of the Belleville marchers carried signs with them during the one-mile walk from the city limits on North Illinois Street to the courthouse. The messages on the signs included, “All Lives Can’t Matter Until Black Lives Matter” and “Color is Not a Crime.”
Mayor Mark Eckert said there were “no problems” with Wednesday’s march as the protesters stayed on the sidewalk and in the plaza in front of the courthouse and that he understands why the protests are occurring.
“We know there’s a lot of frustration throughout the nation, we all are,” Eckert said. “I totally understand their desire to speak out and express their concerns about ... this most recent horrible situation.”
Peaceful protests have given way to riots in some cities, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, where over 360 buildings have been burned down, looted or vandalized, according to the Star Tribune newspaper.
In St. Louis, a retired police captain was shot to death at a pawn shop and four on-duty officers were shot, according to media reports.
A citizen’s video showed Floyd face down on a Minneapolis street as a police officer pressed his left knee on Floyd’s neck before Floyd died.
The officer, Derek Chauvin, has since been fired and arrested on charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The charges were upgraded Wednesday to second-degree murder.
Three other officers on the scene also were fired and were charged with aiding and abetting murder on Wednesday, according to The New York Times.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 3:05 PM.
