‘We need the truth.’ Black Lives Matter 757 protests at Oceanfront
Black Lives Matter 757 protesters demanded police accountability and asked people to join in Saturday night at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
More than 20 protesters chanted in a call-and-response manner “No justice, no peace,” “Say his name, Donovon Lynch” and “Say her name, Deshayla Harris” while walking along Atlantic Avenue and the boardwalk.
The group met at 7:57 p.m. at a vigil around a tree at 20th Street and Pacific Avenue created for Lynch, who was shot by police on March 26 during a chaotic night in which he and Harris were killed and eight people were injured in multiple shootings. Saturday would have been Lynch’s 26th birthday.
Black Lives Matter 757 President Japharii Jones used a megaphone and questioned the police narrative regarding that night.
He and other protesters demanded police retract their statement that Lynch was brandishing a gun for lack of evidence. Jones questioned why police body cameras were not working that night and why Lynch was moved. Jones encouraged protesters to talk to the City Council.
“We need to restore his name,” participant Gary McCollum, a member of the Virginia Beach Interdenominational Ministers Conference, said, saying Lynch was a good man.
At a Suited movement757 event nearby a couple hours earlier, McCollum called for a federal investigation.
“There are too many unanswered questions,” he said, adding, “We need the truth.”
Black Lives Matter 757 protesters received honks and support along Atlantic Avenue although some passersby criticized the organization. Many hotel guests and kids shouted back “Black lives matter” from their balconies and windows facing the beach while a few people shouted “Shut up” as the group made its way down the boardwalk to Dairy Queen at 17th Street.