The turnout was not massive. But what the protestors lacked in numbers, they made up in passion. A group of about 30 activists, one as young as 14, congregated at Williams Park in St. Petersburg at night on Dec 19. They were there for an event called “Shame On The Police – March for Justice #BlackLivesMatter,” which gathered to protest the racist policies of the police and criminal justice system which lead to the deaths of Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Tamir Price, and many others.
The march started in Williams Park, a bus depot and major hub of the downtown area. The voices of the protesters eventually grew to drown out the noises of the surrounding live acts and vehicle engines. The activists walked into the street onto Central Avenue, where there is much more foot traffic.
“No justice,” shouted Ben West, one of the organizers of the event, as he held a sign saying “Fire Racist Cops!”
“No peace!” replied the protestors in unison.
“Hands up!” shouted West.
“Don’t shoot!”chanted the protesters.
“Fists up!” said West, pumping a fist in the air.
“Fight back!”
These were the chants that drew the attention of the bystanders on Central Ave. Many shouted in agreement and photographed us. The entire march was framed by bicycle and motorcycle police.
The protesters walked six blocks up Central Ave, and stopped at the intersection with Martin Luther King, Jr. St. The chants came to a stop.
“Mike Brown’s body laid in the road four and a half hours after he was murdered! Four and a half hours! Bang, bang, bang, bang! You’re all dead!” said activist Vernon Williams. This was a signal to the other activists to start the “die in.”
All of the protesters laid down in the middle of the intersection. There was total silence for four and a half minutes. Traffic was completely stopped.
At the end of the “die in,” one of the protesters roused the others with more chants. They walked the final three blocks to the police station. The activists stopped in front of the steps. Several more police officers not on escort detail watched and filmed the proceedings. Another “die in” was set in motion. Organizer Trey Gonzalez narrated the die in. Once it concluded, the protesters gathered in a circle and allowed an open forum to speak to the police department and the community at large.
“Collectively, all of us can come together and change things. We can do this,” said West. His voice was hoarse from shouting during the march. “Us the people have to rise up and make those changes!”
“Justice has no color! There’s no poverty line on justice!” interjected Williams. “We all need to come together. Community, law enforcement together will equal justice. Until we get that, we won’t stop. We will be out here every time that we have to. Protests are just a sign of the people getting their words heard!”
Once the protesters had finished addressing the police department, they continued back down the road to address the public once more. Chants echoed as they made their way back to their starting point.
“I have witnessed too much police brutality and not enough consequences being handed down to these officers who are killing unarmed men, women, and children,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez is a member of The Bay Area Activist Coalition Group, which is currently based out of St. Petersburg, and is working to create one coalition of the different groups representing the Bay Area.
