Detroit \u2014 Protests continued Monday in Metro Detroit, with demonstrators in downtown Detroit and Troy calling for justice after the death of George Floyd during\u2026<\/b>
\nDetroit \u2014 Protests continued Monday in Metro Detroit, with demonstrators in downtown Detroit and Troy calling for justice after the death of George Floyd during a police incident last week in Minneapolis.
By early evening, several hundred protesters had gathered at the corner of Michigan and Third for the fourth day of rallying in downtown Detroit against police brutality, while hundreds marched near Somerset Collection in Troy.
The organizers of the Detroit protest assembled next to the parking lot of Detroit\u2019s Public Safety headquarters building. On past nights, groups convened their demonstrations in the lot and along the grass out in front of the police building. But on Monday, the perimeter was fenced off and the parking lot gates were shuttered.
Some walked up in groups, carrying American flags or signs that read \u201cBlack Lives Matter\u201d and \u201cSilence is Violence.\u201d Others rode up on bicycles and with leashed dogs. Organizers took turns speaking, noting they would head toward Vernier in southwest Detroit and already have planned another gathering and march for Tuesday.
Maura Rosner of Ferndale joined the group Monday after noting she\u2019d been among a group detained a couple days earlier and cited for disorderly conduct. She contends she was arrested around 7 p.m. Saturday while standing with the crowd and holding a sign. She had to post a $100 bond to get out of jail.
Rosner, who works at a coffee shop in Detroit, spent three of the last four days to advocate for justice in Floyd\u2019s death and considers herself a peaceful protester.
\u201cI\u2019m not here to match injustice with injustice,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s not why we\u2019re here.\u201d
Rosner, 36, said she\u2019s hopeful that the protesting won\u2019t escalate to the level it has elsewhere in Michigan and the country.
\u201cMost people are happy with the renewal here and don\u2019t want to destroy or damage any of it,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s the majority of people.\u201d
Lori Harris said she\u2019s been marching to bring awareness to the systematic inequities placed on African Americans since slavery.
\u201cEvery time something happens people run down in that state that it happened in and then it dies down and then we get used to it being our normal,\u201d said Harris, 56, an expat who’s staying with family in Detroit, where she grew up. \u201cThere needs to be a new normal.\u201d
Harris said there\u2019s been an element turning out for the protests for the wrong reasons.
\u201cYou always welcome the support of everyone. The issue with getting support from white Americans is you can\u2019t see what\u2019s in their heart,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have those who truly want to support and you have those who are there trying to further their agenda and causing chaos.\u201d
In Troy, protesters headed down Coolidge Highway near the shopping center in the early evening, chanting, \u00ab\u00a0No justice, no peace! No racist police!\u00a0\u00bb
As the march proceeded with police looking on, participants made their way down Big Beaver, shouting, \u201cBlack lives matter!\u201d and \u201cWhat\u2019s his name? George Floyd!\u201d
Several rallies in Detroit have been organized by the national civil rights and immigrant rights organization By Any Means Necessary or BAMN.
\u201cWe are marching and fighting for justice for George Floyd and to remove Donald Trump by any means necessary,\u201d said Kate Stenvig, national organizer for the organization, which wants to see all officers involved with the death of Floyd in prison.
Police have arrested and prosecutors have charged Derek Chauvin, the then-officer seen on camera with his knee on Floyd’s neck during the arrest, but protests have expanded since then.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig made national headlines by calling Floyd’s death a \u00ab\u00a0murder.\u00a0\u00bb
Most of the people arrested at Sunday’s protest were from Metro Detroit communities outside the city, said Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood, head of media relations for the department.
Stenvig said it\u2019s a \u201cpolice story line,\u201d intended to create a divide, that protesters are coming from outside the city.
\u201cThe majority of people like us here are from Detroit but we are absolutely very happy that people from all over Michigan have come to Detroit to join these protests,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have not seen mobilizations like this… I haven\u2019t in my lifetime. This is a breath of fresh air for millions of people around the world who are sick of racist treatment.\u201d
khall@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @bykaleahall<\/p>\n