‘RIGHT NOW, I FEEL HOPEFUL’
George Floyd protests bring big crowds downtown near City Hall
As a crowd of a few hundred people stood at an intersection in front of Orlando City Hall on Friday, Cathareene Tertus waved a brown cardboard sign with “No more racial injustice” written in black marker on one side and “Black lives matter” on the other.
“I just keep wanting to cry and I wanted to do something,” said Tertus, a 29-year-old nurse from Pine Hills.
About a dozen Orlando police officers lined the front of City Hall behind her, watching the demonstration from a distance, as Tertus said she has been both saddened and scared by the scenes of police brutality from around the country. She joined the protestors as a way to push back.
Asked whether she believed things might change, she responded, “I have hope and I have doubt.”
The crowd continued to chant around her, stopping only to cheer as cars drove by honking, their drivers’ fists raised in the air.
“Right now, I feel hopeful,” Tertus said. Speakers throughout the afternoon and evening stressed the importance of voting, and activists circulated at the demonstration registering people to vote.
Protesters were urged to channel their pain and anger into activism.
“Don’t let this movement, don’t let this action become a TikTok dance,” one speaker said. “We’ve said it a thousand times: Vote. Vote. Vote.”
The protest and march remained peaceful throughout the evening. After the 8 p.m. curfew, a group of about 60 people marched on Livingston Street to just east of Summerlin Avenue, which is outside of the downtown curfew zone. The group chanted “black lives matter” and traded taunts with police officers sitting on their bicycles, who eventually rode away.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of people gathered for the Walk of Mourning and Restoration, organized by pastor Tim Johnson of Orlando World Outreach Center.
That event started in front of Camping World Stadium before moving down Church Street to cross Division Avenue, ending in a lot across from Amway Center.
Religious and community leaders and officials spoke about the need for an end to police brutality and racial injustice following days of protests sparked by Floyd’s death.
“We see you,” said Orlando commissioner Regina Hill, who is from and represents the neighborhood of Parramore. “We hear you. I am you.”
Thousands of protesters have been rallying and marching in downtown Orlando — and across the nation — for more than a week, demanding justice for Floyd, the Minnesota man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kept his knee on his neck for more than 8 minutes.
Protests have also sprung up or are planned in other Central Florida areas.
Several hundred people showed up for a protest Friday in Leesburg at City Hall, the fourth peaceful demonstration this week in Lake County. And a “Peace, Love and Unity” walk is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday in Mount Dora, starting at Donnelly Street and Jackson Avenue.
The first Central Florida protest was on May 28, when dozens first gathered outside a Windermere-area townhouse owned by Derek Chauvin, the white officer recorded kneeling on the 46-year-old black man’s neck.
Chauvin faces second-degree murder charges, upgraded this week from the initial third-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting. All four have been fired.
On Friday, the crowd that started before 3 p.m. in front of City Hall soon headed to Orlando Police headquarters. Someone called out, “Say their name!” The crowd responded, “Which one?”
After silently lying down in front of the headquarters, people stood and faced the police officers watching them. “It’s your fault,” they chanted. “Failure to protect.” Then, “Shame on you.”
One of the protesters at the headquarters was Lamondrea Harp. At 26, she is just one year younger than Breonna Taylor, who was killed in her Kentucky home during a no-knock search by Louisville police.
“I feel like black people are being killed senselessly, with no justice,” Harp said, as she stood shoulder to shoulder with protestors in front of the headquarters.
The medical receptionist said she was spending her first day off since the protests erupted to join the call for systemic changes.
Harp said she wants to see reforms to use of force policies and police transparency. And she wants to see officers responsible for the deaths of Taylor and others arrested and convicted.
“You can’t ignore the problem anymore,” Harp said.
The protesters made their way back to City Hall, joining a smaller group gathered there to listen to community activists call for police accountability, and the crowd swelled to about 600 people.
Lawanna Gelzer told the gathering that local law enforcement agencies have changed their protocol for tracking use of force so that many instances go unreported.
“If they don’t like the color of your hair they can pepper spray you and get away with it,” she said.
Unlike in previous protests this week, police watching over the event at City Hall appeared almost disinterested, gathering in small groups and chatting.
Several officers sat on the edges of planters in front of City Hall. Another two dozen officers were gathered beneath the front door awnings of the grand Bohemian Hotel across the intersection of South Street in Orange Avenue. The hotel’s large windows were covered with plywood.
There was a moment of silence at one point while protesters held their right fists in the air and then sang a happy birthday song to Taylor, who would have turned 27 on Thursday. A light sprinkle began and sirens wailed in the distance.