Fearing virus risk, siblings honor George Floyd their own way
SAN DIEGO — Ruthie Grant-Williams of Coronado wants to join the protests over the killing of George Floyd and speak out against systemic racism. But she can’t. That’s because she and her older brother are taking care of their grandparents. To participate in the protests would risk exposure to COVID-19, and they don’t want to compromise their grandparents’ health.
“It’s hard to explain how we were feeling,” said GrantWilliams, 18, who is black. “Hopeless and a little guilty that we weren’t out there representing our race. But we had a job to do for our family.”
So, instead of joining the protest, Grant-Williams decided to erect a small memorial for George Floyd in her hometown.
On May 31, the same day California Highway Patrol officers blocked protesters from crossing the bridge into Coronado, she and her brother, David GrantWilliams, 21, placed Floyd’s photo and a written message on a piece of cardboard and arranged it by the beach with flowers and candles.
The message, which Ruthie Grant-Williams wrote, read:
“A black man who was murdered for the color of his skin, only seen for his darker pigment and not as a human being. As a nation we must come together as one race, the human race, to fight the pandemic of systemic racism in our country.”
The message encouraged people to “come peacefully while social distancing to pay your respects, share thoughts and prayers for George Floyd and his family.” “We really just wanted to get the message out that systemic racism is alive in the country and it is a problem,” David Grant-Williams said.
Maria Grant says she is proud of her children for taking a stand but anxious about how people would react. And Coronado did react. In the days since Floyd’s photo appeared on Ocean Boulevard, the small memorial has grown in size and scope. Strangers contribute something new to it daily.
“Every night we go there and we always see more stuff,” David Grant-Williams said. “It really makes us happy because it shows you people in Coronado don’t just care about themselves.”
The memorial is a colorful piece of art, drawn in chalk along the sidewalk by local high school students, with portraits of people killed during encounters with the police and references to the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Grant-Williams siblings grew up as one of the few African American families in Coronado. They’re used to sticking out.
There have been some awkward moments — such as when a girl in Ruthie’s second-grade class stared at her father because he was the first black man she had ever seen in person — but overall, the siblings grew up feeling welcomed in Coronado.
Since the memorial went up, there have been small, youth-led demonstrations in Coronado. For several days, cars have been honking in support of people holding Black Lives Matter signs along Orange Avenue.
Coronado officials said they respect the public’s right to protest. The decision to close the bridge was made because of concerns of potential looting.
“There’s respect for peaceful protests,” City Manager Blair King told the City Council during a June 2 meeting. “There’s concern that there’s some elements of people that are marching in the streets that don’t have peaceful intentions in mind.”