Protesters claim peace amid Philadelphia march on june 6
A young black boy sits on the curb, sucking on a lollipop in front of Philadelphia City Hall. At his feet lays a hand written sign that reads, “Get your knee off my neck,” in bold black letters. He’s sitting next to his mother, watching, as thousands pour in from the street, calling for police accountability in the killing of George Floyd.
On June 6, around noon, an estimated 100,000 gathered around the Philadelphia Art Museum to protest police brutality, demand the defunding of police and withdrawal of the National Guard. This is one of many protests that have erupted in the city in the wake of Floyd’s death. They were just as seen as they were heard; marching down JFK Boulevard to City Hall in unity, signs in hand, chanting “No justice; no peace,” “George Floyd,” and “Black Lives Matter.”
The protest was organized by various groups, including the political Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Philadelphia Liberation Center and many others, according the the event Facebook page.
Groups from other protests around the city joined at city hall, where they spent hours holding signs, calling out for justice and listening to speakers. There, they chanted. They kneeled. They raised their arms. They danced to the Cupid Shuffle. A block away, children played basketball with uniformed police officers as onlookers cheered. Helicopters hummed overhead.
Protesters flood JFK Boulevard on June 6, during Philadelphia’s march for George Floyd. /Kelley Davis
As the temperature climbed near 90 degrees under sunny skies, the people’s passion blistered. The protesters remained peaceful, though vocal. Thousands spilled into the streets, flooding city hall, facing a line of stone-faced police and the National Guard, who donned weapons and heavy military gear. They stood silently above the crowd behind a barrier, like statues. Tanks were found on side streets, where dozens from the guard stood firm. Yet, the police at the event were in small numbers.
News coverage of the protests has sparked controversy; with a high focus on property damage and looting, causing some to view the protesters as disruptive, looters, or even criminals. Saturday’s event showed a different narrative.
“This is all peaceful. This is all love. This is all the way it’s supposed to be and it’s getting a really bad reputation,” said Monica Reed, 39, the mother of that little black boy with the little blue sign.
“It’s all a distraction. It’s just to take away from what the real message is,” she continued.
“I haven’t seen anybody who’s been disruptive here. Not one person,” she said, of the protests she’s attended.
She showed up for one simple reason: “Because what’s going on isn’t right,” she said, referencing police brutality and the killings of black men, women and people of color by police in America.
“We all saw it,” said Reed, referring to the video of Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on the back of Floyd’s neck in a city street after suspicion of using a counterfeit bill.
Protesters face off Philadelphia PD and the National Guard as they reach the end of their march towards City Hall on June 6. /Kelley Davis.
“It was 8 minutes and 46 seconds he [the officer] had to make a different choice — and he didn’t. And that wouldn’t have happened if it was somebody that looked like you,” she said, noticing my skin tone.
“That’s not what they’re supposed to be,” she continued. “They’re here to protect us, not kill us.”
As a mother, Reed fears for her own child.
“I want my son to grow up and not have to be afraid if he’s walking to the store and looks like someone who may have committed a crime and end up dying,” she said.
“I want him to live,” Reed added.
Much of the local and national focus of the protests have been on the riots, but Reed emphasized the generosity she’s seen. Throughout Saturday’s demonstration, protesters handed out water bottles and sun screen as the temperature increased. They also provided hand sanitizer, masks and snacks. Some even offered first aid in case any one was injured. All of this, free.
The protesters showed up for Floyd. For Breonna Taylor. For Ahmaud Arbery. They showed up for the black men and women whose names we do not know. They showed up to highlight the wider issue of systemic racism in this country. They showed up to not only say their names, but also to call for action — so we can stop shouting the names of black men and women killed in America.
“We felt guilty staying at home, said Protestor Pam Christie, 24, of Philadelphia.
She remembers staying home one night, turning to the television.
“We watched the news and cried. So we felt like we just had to come out,” she said.
When asked how to describe the protests she’s attended, she said, “all of them, peaceful, until the cops make them violent. Every single one.”
Christie and four of her friends were teargassed on June 1.
Protesters face off Philadelphia PD and the National Guard as they reach the end of their march towards City Hall on June 6. /Kelley Davis.
They dispersed after a protest, walking down a side street to collect themselves after the day’s events. That’s when they were approached by three police cars. The officers tossed two canisters directly at them.
“We weren’t even protesting,” she said.
She described another instance when an officer grabbed her friend by the arm when protesting in front of city hall; another account of a friend detained for show, in an effort to encourage other protesters to leave, they believe. The officers let her go once the crowd began to exit.
“It was right over there,” she pointed, to a sign post in front of City Hall. It was five minutes passed curfew, when the groups began slowly leaving. She watched the officer zip-tie her friend’s wrists together. Her friend asked the officer why he was arresting her and not the people looting the nearby Target. The police officer specified he was not there to arrest looters, only to arrest the protesters, she said.
“There’s a huge difference between protesters and looters. The marches and the protests we’ve been at during the day, there is no one looting anything. It’s very much like this today,” Christie said.
Christie remembered only one instance when a demonstrator became disruptive. He chucked a water bottle at the police, but others quickly intervened, stopping to remind him not to become violent, Christie said.
“The protesters have been peaceful, the looters are just trying to get something out of it. And then they blame the protesters,” said Christie.
The more demonstrations, the more activists have learned to become organized and not fall for the tactics used to incite violence, she added.
Christie, like many other protesters, called for police accountability and diverting funds away from the police and into the community.
Protesters are not here to be violent, Christie said, only to seek justice for Floyd and to inspire real change in a flawed system.
A Philadelphia police officer looks out into the crowd during Philadelphia’s march for George Floyd on June 6. /Kelley Davis
Sally, 22, of Philadelphia, was also teargassed for peacefully marching on Monday . She wished to not provide her last name. She was heading towards the Ben Franklin Bridge when the police unleashed tear gas into the crowd. She remembers feeling the gas rain down on her skin.
The crowd was told by police if they were seen again at a protest, they would be sent to jail for looting, even though no one was looting, she said.
Demonstrators like Christie, Reed and Sally said it is not their first protest and it won’t be their last.
“We need to keep this momentum going,” said Sally.
A young girl holds a sign during Philadelphia’s demonstration on June 6. /Kelley Davis
Reed doesn’t want the protests to stop either. She fears when the protests stop, everything will stop. Progress will stop. So it needs to continue. It must continue for Floyd, and for other people of color in America, like her son, said Reed.
Protesters strut down JFK Boulevard on June 6, during Philadelphia’s march for George Floyd. /Kelley Davis
Her son, 10-year-old Jayden, spoke. Still seated on the curb; his Lolli-pop now gone.
“I hope that when I grow up and I have to go to the store for something, or for someone I love,” he won’t have to fear being stopped by the police, he said.
“I don’t want to fear for my life, when I’m just doing something that anyone else, anyone else in the world can do,” Jayden said.
These protesters are marching for kids like Jayden, so that he may have the opportunity to not only grow up in a world without fear; but also live in a world where he is allowed to grow old.
A Philadelphia police officer looks out into the crowd during Philadelphia’s march for George Floyd on June 6. /Kelley Davis
* The on-duty police officers at this event were unable to comment.
* Jayden’s last name was withheld.