Black Lives Matter organizers stood on the steps of Syracuse City Hall on Saturday afternoon to continue protesting police brutality and the alleged murder of George Floyd.

Protesters in Syracuse, organized under the name Last Chance for Change, have marched for eight consecutive days in response to the killing of Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd, a Black man, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.

Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck, faces charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. The three other officers present during Floyd’s death have been arrested on charges of aiding and abetting murder.

The demonstrations have been largely peaceful with the exception of the breaking of a courthouse window and looting of stores on May 30. Protesters have said they will march in the city for 40 days.

5 p.m. 

Protesters meet in a parking lot near East Adams Street.

4:42 p.m. 

One protester is reading the names of Syracuse residents who are victims of police brutality, including those who survived. The crowd holds a moment of silence as the names are read.

4:29 p.m.

Syracuse resident Torrence Jackson shares his experience with police brutality. Jackson was forced to undergo a sigmoidoscopy — where an eight-inch tube was inserted into his rectum — to search for drugs, Syracuse.com reported in 2018. Jackson was put under general anesthesia for the search, which did not find any drugs present.

Jackson was in the hospital for 14 hours for the procedure, he said. Police let him go the next day, he said.

“The hospital was arguing with the police about doing a procedure to me, right, and I’m telling them ‘no,’” Jackson said. “What about the community, they doing this to our kids too. I’m not the only person.”

4:06 p.m.

Protesters stop and take a knee on West Washington Street, some with their fists raised.

They link arms as they continue t0 march, passing South Franklin Street.

3:56 p.m.

The crowd is marching from curb to curb in downtown Syracuse. Some link arms as protesters begin to chant the names of Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

“The violence stops here y’all,” one protester said.

3:42 p.m.

The crowd chants “this is what democracy looks like,” as they pass the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office.

3:38 p.m.

Organizers decide to march, chanting, “no justice, no peace.” Another group turns onto South State Street to join the march as the crowd cheers.

3:28 p.m.

Organizers are discussing their next moves. While the protest has a greater attendance today than it may on any other day, Chaplin said they should consider organizers’ safety.

“Our patience is thin, but it’s a game,” Chaplin said. “If we can take 40 days and get something done, and the rest of the nation can see how we did it, maybe this could start a trend.”

3:14 p.m

Hundreds gather at the Last Chance for Change march in a park near East Adams Street. The crowd shares a moment of silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in honor of Floyd.

The revolution has started and won’t stop, Rev. H. Bernard Alex says to the crowd. People want the movement to be divided, but organizers won’t split up, he said.

2:53 p.m.

The crowd echoes the chants of an organizer, “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win.”

“We must love and protect one another. We have nothing to lose but our chance,” they chant.

The crowd at City Hall appears to be disbanding.

2:50 p.m.

One organizer discusses elected officials’ lack of action and justice. Everybody takes issue with looting, but the country was built on stolen land, they said.

“The money is there, the political will is not,” they said.

2:42 p.m.

Syracuse University student organizers with #NotAgainSU are attending the rally. The movement, led by Black students, formed in response to at least 32 hate crimes or hate incidents that have occurred at or near SU since early November.

2:36 p.m.

The crowd shares a moment of silence, raising fists and signs.

“That was one minute,” a protester said after the moment of silence ends. Imagine not being able to breathe for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, like Floyd, they said.

2:22 p.m.

Last Chance for Change organizers join the rally. Organizer Curtis Chaplin addresses the crowd, who raises their fists. He thanked Black Lives Matter for organizing the rally.

“I’m delighted to see this many people,” he said. “We are marching for every single person in our city who has suffered from police brutality, who is still suffering from police brutality.”

Last Chance for Change is marching for the 8th consecutive day as the Black Lives Matter rally continues at City Hall.

2:13 p.m. 

Emily NaPier Singletary of Unchained said her husband, a Black man, is serving 20 years in state prison. She discusses the parole system and those who have died in prisons and correctional facilities.

She encourages the crowd to chant “Black Lives Matter” loud enough for people in prisons to hear.

2:01 p.m.

An organizer discusses the dangers her son, who has Downs syndrome, may encounter with police.

“We know that we have a militarized police force that never engages with us out of love,” they said. “So imagine my son going down the street and somebody asks him to show him his ID, right? Imagine somebody stopping him and talking to him about where he was going.”

All Black lives matter, the organizer said.

“If your revolution is not intersectional it’s not a revolution,” they said. “When we engage with the criminal justice system, it’s never just.”

1:36 p.m.

Yusuf Abdul-Qadir of the New York Civil Liberties Union urges the crowd to “stand firmly for justice.”

“Not partially, not kind of, not halfway, stand firmly for justice,” Abdul-Qadir said

Abdul-Qadir later discussed New York Civil Rights Law 50-a. The law protects the performance evaluation records of police officers, fire fighters and corrections officers from being released. Following protests across the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed legislation to make police personnel records more transparent.

This country was built on the backs of Black people, Abdul-Qadir said. The community needs to radically change the role of police and remove them from society, he said.

1:25 p.m.

One protester, who’s a rising senior in high school, demands that the Syracuse City School District terminate its contract with the Syracuse Police Department and reject the use of metal detectors and surveillance technology. Counselors and teachers who represent marginalized identities would make them feel safe at school, the protester said.

“Look around, Syracuse. The young people have a voice,” Nitch Jones, an organizer, said. “We’re going to continue to back our young people, because they are leaders of today.”

1:04 p.m.

Hundreds gather for the rally outside City Hall. Police officers, some wearing riot gear, block off several streets.

Protesters on the steps of City Hall begin to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” while some join in and cheer.

“Let us march on,” they sing.

Published on June 6, 2020 at 2:07 pm

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