Protesters at OKC rally say it's time for change
Protesters at Sunday's rally in northeast Oklahoma City had different ideas about why they were there.
But they all agreed on one thing: It's time to take a stand for what they believe is right.
At the intersection of NE 36 and Kelley Avenue, hundreds of people listened to speakers, sang gospel songs, and chanted phrases to protest the killing of George Floyd, a black man killed by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25.
Erica Gathers, a Houston resident raised in Oklahoma City, said she needed to do more than share posts on social media. She needed to stand beside her brothers and sisters.
“It's important for me to get out on the streets and actually let my voice be heard and take a stand for something that I believe is wrong, and to stand up for what I believe is right,” she said.
“There needs to be a change. Something needs to happen. Police shouldn't just have a sweeping authority to do what they want and kill people and get away with it.”
Oklahoma City re sident Anesha Treadway, a 31-year-old mother to four children ages 1 through 10, said she hopes she can help her children live the safe, long lives they deserve.
“Kids have their own feelings about the issue, too,” she said. “My kids are going to be aware. I love them so much that I want them to be very aware. ... We want them to be safe.”
Some protesters' signs at the rally simply read “I can't breathe,” a phrase Floyd said as the police officer pinned him to the ground by placing his knee on Floyd's neck.
Jazmene Roberts carried a sign and posed a question to those around her.
“Can my brothers breathe?” she asked. “I don't know, because t he police keep taking it away from them. That's what's bringing me out here. I want to make a voice or be a voice for someone that doesn't get a chance to speak anymore. I've got a 15-year-old brother. I want him to see longer than, I don't know, 75 (years-ofage) or something.”
While some pro testers carried signs with messages written on them, some used art to express their emotions.
Addison Hecker painted a picture of Floyd on her canvas. To Hecker, art is an important part of any movement for social change.
“There have been a lot of really powerful artworks that have been used to spread the message of different protests throughout history,” she said.
Larry Crud um, pastor at the Tabernacle Baptist Church, said he's “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
“This needs to be fixed not just in this city, but all over this nation,” he said. “There has been literally nothing done to fix the racism that is in this nation. We're sick and tired, and we're not going to take it anymore. We need this to be changed. We're not asking anymore. We're telling that, unless you change what's been going on, this will continue. So that's why I'm here: To lend a voice.”