The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Peaceful protest in Atlanta over killing
National Guard put on standby only in event of violence erupting.
Another small but energetic group of people gathered peacefully Saturday in downtown Atlanta to protest the deadly police beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, and demand justice.
The number of people grew throughout the day and included Natalie Villasana with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a national political organization. She spoke at the demonstration and guided protesters through several chants including “The people united will never be defeated.”
She expressed her deep disappointment in having to yet again take to the streets after a life lost at the hands of law enforcement.
“It’s egregious that we have to be out here, year after year, month after month, calling for justice, calling for an end of this terror,” she said.
The group of about 70 people marched a loop around Centennial Olympic Park on Saturday afternoon.
On Friday evening, a slightly smaller group gathered shortly after the city of Memphis released more than an hour of body camera footage showing the brutal incident. Nichols, 29, died Jan. 10, three days after the violent encounter. Nichols was kicked in the head and repeatedly hit with a baton, even as he showed no signs of fighting back. The release of the video failed to answer key questions, including why Nichols was pulled over by police in the first place.
The video was shared one day after the five fired officers, all of them Black, were charged with second-degree murder, among other crimes, in the death of Nichols, also a Black man. Protesters gathered for mostly peaceful
demonstrations Friday night in several other cities, including Memphis, New York City and Los Angeles.
As of Saturday afternoon, the National Guard had not been deployed in downtown Atlanta. However, dozens of troops were seen Friday afternoon setting up equipment and arranging armored vehicles in parks near the state Capitol.
An executive order from Gov. Brian Kemp allowed him to deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops if violence were to break out.
A spokesperson for the National Guard told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday the troops would continue to be on standby through the evening and that plans for today were yet to be determined.
Meanwhile, more gatherings, including a vigil, were being planned for the coming days. The Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights — a Decatur-based civil rights organization founded in 2015 that promotes civic engagement on issues of racial equity — is planning a vigil for today at 5 p.m. in Decatur.
“The vigil is an opportunity for us to connect as a community, and for Black people to come together also specifically, to mourn, to grieve the death of yet someone else that looks like us, at the hands of senseless violence from police,” said Fonta High, co-chair of Beacon Hill. “It’s
a time of communal grieving.”
Beacon Hill, which coordinates with local churches and community groups, was the force behind the removal of the Confederate obelisk in the Decatur Square.
When the beating videos were released Friday, High said she felt “deep sadness, and even more anger and frustration.”
She placed blame on what she called the “militarization of police because of their training and that bias is reinforced.”
“It’s not necessarily shocking that they’re Black,” said High about the police officers. “The race of the police officers — it’s not so much about their racial identity but their professional identity and how they’re trained. So no matter the color of skin of the officer, we are going to see these incidents occur again and again.”
She added: “I’d like to see us come together across the country and get on the same page about the changes that need to happen.”
Ahead of the video’s release,
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens urged anyone gathering in response to avoid a repeat of the prior weekend, when protests over the future Atlanta police training center turned violent and prompted half a dozen arrests. “I know there will be protests in our city,” Dickens said in a video posted to his Instagram account, adding he wanted “to make sure that we are vigilant about making sure that violent instigators don’t get the final word and don’t co-op peaceful protests for their own political aims.”
The downtown crowds Friday and Saturday afternoon expressed outrage but did so peacefully.
Gerald Griggs, an attorney and president of the Georgia NAACP, called on state leaders to sit down and talk to Black communities about how police terror can come to an end. He said he opposed Kemp’s decision to order the National Guard to be on standby, charging that it promotes more terror. “We are outside today and we will be outside tomorrow, and the day after that, so Brian, send the National Guard home,” Griggs said. “There is no state of emergency except for police brutality.”
While Georgia National Guard troops assembled in downtown Atlanta, the governor’s office stressed they remain on standby only in case peaceful protests turn violent.
The video release prompted statements from several Atlanta and Georgia institutions and leaders, including Morehouse College, the Atlanta Police Department, the GBI, Martin Luther King III, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and both Kemp and Dickens. Kemp called it “painful footage,” while Dickens described it as a “vile and brutal attack.” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said, “This is not how any human being should be treated.”
And U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff said, “The horrific killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis has once against shaken the nation’s conscience. Mr. Nichols and his family deserve justice.”
While Georgia National Guard troops assembled in downtown Atlanta, the governor’s office stressed they remain on standby only in case peaceful protests turn violent.