A Tale of Two Protests

  By Raquan Pride-Green | raquanspg@therisemedia.net  

Members of the Syracuse community were baffled when what started as a “peaceful protest” by day, morphed into a series of looting and acts of vandalism by night. During the cloudy afternoon of Saturday May 30, hundreds of Syracuse community members assembled in downtown Syracuse in front of the Onondaga County Justice Center located at 555 South State Street, in response to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN at the hands of a uniformed police officer. The gathering was peaceful initially starting with a prayer as more people continued to arrive.  The protesters were holding up signs, chanting “no justice no peace,” “no racist police,” “we can’t breathe,” “justice now,” and the name “George Floyd.” The attendees also chanted, “don’t shoot” as they held their hands in the air. A fleet of vehicles rode down State Street beeping their horns as large amounts of people led and followed while locking arms and continuing their chants. The protest evolved into a march when the protesters moved throughout the city going as far as to the Solvay police station and back to the Onondaga County Justice Center while continuing to chant and hold their signs. An escort from the Syracuse Police department accompanied the participants as Syracuse police officers blocked off streets and directed traffic so that the protesters could advance throughout the city safely. 

Nightfall bought upon some different protesters with a different energy that resulted in different activities. A brief confrontation between police officers, who were dressed in riot gear, and the protesters occurred near the Onondaga County Justice Center. There are conflicting stories from attendees of what happened first, however the officers shot tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd of protesters and a group of people vandalized the Public Safety Building. Moments later looting and vandalism erupted just blocks away on South Salina Street in downtown Syracuse. Similarly to the earlier demonstration on South State Street, there were hundreds of people on South Salina Street expressing themselves as well. Windows were broken and merchandise was taken from downtown area stores such as Street Game, Villa, and Sharef’s World of Fashion. Other businesses in the downtown area and throughout the city also suffered vandalism and burglary as the night continued. Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh responded by declaring that Syracuse was in a state of an emergency along with implementing a curfew from 8pm-7am. Sunday morning saw members of the community offer their support to the downtown area by volunteering to help with the cleaning process of the area. Protesters lined up yet again near the Onondaga County Justice Center around 8pm to continue their protest and oppose the 8pm curfew. The protest drew a significantly smaller crowd; it was not as eventful as the previous demonstrations; however, the protest ended safely and peacefully. 

The reaction from the urban community was a divided one as members took to social media to express both their disdains and endorsements of the actions of those who participated in the activities that left several businesses damaged and burglarized. Some were angry, outraged, and disappointed while others thought the activities were warranted and necessary. Economic disparities, educational disparities, and the lack of resources in our community may be some of the contributing factors to why some of our neighbors chose to participate in the evening activities. Regardless of what motivated their actions, it is important that we try to understand the causes of their behaviors and not condemn their behaviors and not them as individuals. No one was harmed and no lives were lost despite the damages to the properties that can be replaced. It is critical that we remember the reasoning behind the protests is that George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, lost his life at the hands of a uniformed officer of the law whose job was to protect and serve. What happened to George Floyd is a perpetuation of inflicted wounds from hundreds of years of trauma experienced by Black Americans in the United States of America. George Floyd’s killing is only one name on a seemingly never-ending list of unarmed Black men and women who have died at the hands of the police. People are hurt, angry, outraged, and yet again searching for answers to end oppression, police brutality against black people, and systemic racism. Whether you prefer the peaceful protest approach or the by any means necessary approach, both are important to the process of shifting a long-standing paradigm for the greater good for all people. In the words of the American writer/philosopher, Raquan Pride, “We deserve to be heard but more importantly we deserve to be understood!”