Marchers call to defund police, remove statue
Demonstrators in Va. Beach advocate against racial injustice
VIRGINIA BEACH — A group of about 25 demonstrators marched through Virginia Beach’s Municipal Center on Sunday, advocating against racism and for the defunding of police.
Continuing the wave of activism for racial justice that’s spread across the country, the group made its way to the city’s fenced off Confederate Monument, and demonstrators spoke of distrust for police and the need for transparency in law enforcement. They also said the existing policing system does not work, and needs radical change.
“There are no bad apples if the entire tree is rotten,” Kyree Jackson said. She said police reform implies police have identified problems they want to fix, but the system of policing has never benefited minorities. She called for more scrutiny of law enforcement and said, “We need to make a police job hard to get and easy to lose.”
Other speakers criticized police budgets and advocated for allocating funds away from police and toward other needs, such as mental health and domestic violence response and public education.
Regarding Virginia Beach police, demonstrators said they created a false narrative about the demonstrations at the Oceanfront four weeks ago, at which tear gas was deployed. The police have said demonstrators were the first to use tear gas; protest organizers have said no one from their group deployed tear gas. Demonstrators said Sunday police donning riot gear was the first step to escalating the situation.
Tyler Woodard highlighted times that police have blocked traffic for marches or taken knees with protesters as small gestures that do nothing to change policing behavior. He felt those were distractions from larger scale changes.
Woodard said in the last month, marches and demonstrations have become more specific, calling for actions he believes can challenge systemic racism, such as one focused on supporting people with special needs and an upcoming sit-in to combat secrecy regarding records on police uses of force. He felt the weeks of demonstrations since the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes, have encouraged more people to become active and stand up for what they believe.
Some protests in Hampton Roads have drawn thousands calling for reform, but many have not included calls to defund the police.
While officers were near the protest, they did not speak other than directing the group onto a sidewalk and toward a sectionedoff area separate from a handful of people near the monument. One of the men continuously shouted at the demonstrators for several minutes, saying, “All lives matter,” and deriding the Black Lives Matter movement. Demonstrators and the man shouted back and forth, including insults and expletives, but the situation didn’t escalate.
At the corner of North Landing and Princess Anne roads, demonstrators said the monument needed to come down and encouraged the group to say so at Wednesday’s public hearing on the monument’s future. Some said the monument was an immediate reminder of slavery and served to honor the people who once owned other people.
Other speakers criticized police budgets and advocated for allocating funds away from police and toward other needs, such as mental health and domestic violence response and public education.