FAYETTEVILLE — Thousands of people gathered peacefully Tuesday night during a “Justice For George Floyd/Black Lives Matter” protest on the downtown square.
The protest came one night after police used tear gas to disperse a crowd in downtown Bentonville.
Police in Northwest Arkansas, in Little Rock and cities across the country have been dealing with protests and some violence since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt with his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes after he was detained. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was later fired and has been arrested in connection with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers were also fired in connection with the incident.
The Fayetteville gathering was promoted as “a peaceful protest against police brutality and systematic racism in our country and judicial system,” according to a Facebook post by Alejandro Victorino of Fayetteville. The post said signs were appreciated but asked that no one bring firearms and that people who “plan on participating in riots or otherwise violent acts and confrontations with authorities and businesses” not attend the protest.
The crowd was loud, but orderly, with speakers reminding everyone of the reasons for the gathering and leading the way in songs and chants. Several times speakers urged anyone who wasn’t supportive of their calls for justice to leave rather than disrupt the event.
People in the crowd offered many reasons for attending including attacking racism in our society and calling for reforms in the justice system, in education and in government.
Taylor Myers of Fayetteville arrived early, crafting a piece of sidewalk chalk art on the east side of the square.
“This is something I really wanted to put out for everyone,” Myers said. “I wanted to make something just as beautiful as the moment is and to try to keep it that way.”
Scarlet Moon, an artist living in Fayetteville, said she had her son in mind as she waited for the event to begin.
“I have a son who’s going to grow up in this world,” Moon said. “I would hate to see a world and have to bring him up in a world where prejudice against people of color is a thing, or police brutality is a thing. Hopefully, if we push this, things will change. It won’t happen unless we continue to push. You can’t give up.”
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[Don't see the gallery above, click here: www.nwaonline.com/6220FayettevilleProtest/]
Police Chief Mike Reynolds said Tuesday afternoon his officers planned to stand in solidarity with demonstrators. The department hosted a gathering of about 30 residents Monday evening outside the station, making hot dogs available to those in attendance.
Reynolds said after the event was officially called to a close he was impressed with the size and demeanor of the gathering. He estimated the crowd at 2,500 to 3,000 people.
“This is the biggest event I’ve ever seen on the square,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds spoke briefly to the crowd, saying the Fayetteville Police Department is “committed to standing in solidarity” with everyone in the community.
“I have to denounce what happened in Minnesota,” Reynolds said. “The Fayetteville Police Department will not condone standing on a man’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds,”
In concluding the event, Victorino asked everyone to kneel in silence for eight minutes and the crowd complied.
When the time was up he asked, “Was that too long?”
“It was too long for Mr. Floyd,” Victorino said.
As he was asking the crowd to disperse, Victorino asked them to do so peacefully and to keep those eight minutes in mind.
“If the world can see that we can do this maybe they’ll take this small town of Fayetteville, Ark., as an example,” he said. “Don’t let those eight minutes go in vain.”
About 8 p.m., Victorino and others urged the crowd to march around the square and then disperse. Most did but a smaller crowd assembled on the north side of the square and continued to chant and cheer as darkness fell.
Tuesday night’s City Council meeting was moved to Thursday to accommodate the demonstration, according to a city news release.
All items on the agenda will be moved to Thursday’s meeting at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will be held via Zoom, as meetings have been since mid-March because of the covid-19 pandemic.
A majority of the council requested the meeting be postponed because of the planned protest. The meeting and event would have overlapped in timing, creating a conflict for anyone wanting to attend both. Mayor Lioneld Jordan made the decision Tuesday afternoon.