Pictured Above: Protests have reached St. Petersburg following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, while in police custody.
Trevor Martindale | The Crow’s Nest
By Trevor Martindale
As demonstrations roiled dozens of American cities, protesters took to the streets of downtown St. Petersburg on Saturday to join the condemnation of police brutality.
The protesters, who included students from USF St. Petersburg, denounced the nation’s policing system and the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis.
A video recorded by a bystander shows former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck for up to nine minutes as Floyd pleads for Chauvin to release him.
On May 29, four days after the incident, Chauvin was taken into custody and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Saturday’s protest began at St. Petersburg City Hall.
Many brought signs displaying messages such as “Black Lives Matter” and “I Can’t Breathe,” which were among Floyd’s last words.
After protesters were situated, speakers led chants with a megaphone.
Eritha Akilè Cainion, a community activist and member of The Uhuru Movement, voiced her desire for justice in the death of Floyd.
She led chants of “no justice, no peace.”
Following Cainion’s speech, Jesse Nevel, national chair of The Uhuru Movement, criticized the news media for calling some Minneapolis protesters “looters.”
Into the megaphone, Nevel said: “Looting looks like a white person with a briefcase and a suit and tie.”
After the speakers concluded their speeches, protesters marched to the St. Petersburg Police Department. Chants of “Say his name! George Floyd!” began.
After arriving at the Police Department, protesters were directed to take a seat. This part of the demonstration lasted for 10 minutes – to commemorate the last moments of Floyd’s life, before the chants resumed.
As speakers spoke through the megaphone again, the topic shifted to the federal government’s management of police brutality. This sparked a “f*** Donald Trump” chant.
This is following public outrage at President Trump’s fiery rhetoric about the protests in Minneapolis and other cities.
In a tweet that Twitter later labelled as a violation of Twitter rules against glorifying violence, Trump stated: “Any difficulty and we will assume control, but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
Along with St. Petersburg locals, many USF St. Petersburg students were in attendance.
“I went out today because I feel like that is what we should do now,” said Masi Perez, a senior at the university. “I think it’s time we rally together to make changes in this country, and a peaceful protest is one of the best things we can do, second only to voting.”
Henry Burrows, another senior, explained that he will reflect upon this protest for years to come.
“I came because I believe it is not right to kill innocent humans,” Burrows said. “And I believe that the murderers should face consequences. I came because when my children learn about this time period and ask me if I did anything, I want to be able to say, ‘Yes, I did.’”
Burrows also had a message for his fellow students.
“To the USFSP community, I want to say that as a black person, I have felt supported and I thank you for that,” he said. “Moving forward I’d like to see even more allies who post on social media, who educate their loved ones, and who physically show up for the African American community.”
USF St. Petersburg senior Hailey Ostwalt also attended the rally.
“Take part in your community – if you see something happening, you need to speak up,” Ostwalt said.
As the protest in St. Petersburg took place, demonstrators also gathered in Tampa and dozens of other American cities. The Tampa protest began peacefully, but later escalated into a riot, with several stores being vandalized, including CVS, AT&T and Cricket Wireless.
The protest in St. Petersburg remained peaceful.
