The spark that ignited outrage over the police killing of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis on Memorial Day reached the Lehigh Valley on Saturday, with demonstrators in Bethlehem’s Rose Garden and downtown Allentown demanding an end to police brutality.
Speakers called on the community to demand justice and changes in the way police interact with people of color. They also told the audience to use the ballot box to effect change.
“We don’t just want you to vote,” said one. “We want you to get angry and vote out all the people who don’t care about us.”
Rafia Sayed of Easton marveled at the turnout as she and friends marched across the Broad Street Bridge in Bethlehem in a crowd that stretched for three blocks. The protest was her first, but she felt compelled to attend after watching another high-profile video of a black man dying in police custody.
“It’s like all Bethlehem showed up,” she said.
Sayed said it was empowering to see such a large, diverse crowd stand up, joining untold numbers of Americans taking similar actions across the country, she said. The nation has become fed up with seeing instances of police brutality but little justice.
“It’s the same story just a different name,” she said. “I have to show my love.”
After the Bethlehem march came an Allentown rally at Seventh and Hamilton streets Saturday evening. Among the first to address the crowd was Mayor Ray O’Connell, who pledged not to let what happened in Minneapolis happen in Allentown. “This is not my America!,” he said, to cheers and some challenges on the city’s record.
The Lehigh Valley rallies were among many across the country this weekend, as people call for reforms after yet another unarmed black man was killed by police last week. The latest incident, in Minneapolis, sparked protests, rioting, fires and looting after video spread on social media of Officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee into the neck of George Floyd, suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, as Floyd repeatedly says he couldn’t breathe.
In many places, the protests were peaceful. But in some, including Philadelphia, they turned into riots, with people injured, vehicles set on fire and shop windows smashed. Mayor Jim Kenney imposed an 8 p.m. curfew Saturday in an attempt to curb the violence.
Hundreds of demonstrators — mostly wearing masks as a precaution against the coronavirus — marched under a warm sun from the Bethlehem Rose Garden to City Hall. Some carried signs printed with Floyd’s last words: “I can’t breathe.” The numbers made it difficult for people to maintain social distancing, though organizers urged marchers to do so.
“What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! If we don’t get it? Shut it down!” they shouted as they walked in a line that stretched across Broad Street and blocks deep, toward downtown Bethlehem.
The Bethlehem rally was organized by POWER Lehigh Valley, Make the Road PA, Lehigh Valley Stands Up, Lehigh Valley Democratic Socialists of America and Lehigh Valley Anarchists.
Around 4 p.m., the crowd entered Payrow Plaza by City Hall, to the sounds of cheers and honking horns. All along the way, police were out of sight, giving the protesters a wide berth. But at City Hall, police were present and silent, even as some hurled insults at them. Organizers lined up as a barricade between police and protesters, keeping the protest peaceful even as it was angry.
There wasn’t a strong police presence in Allentown, either, though Chief Glenn Granitz Jr. and several officers were monitoring the protest, which was more subdued than Bethlehem’s. Protesters there took their march from Seventh and Hamilton streets to City Hall, chanting George Floyd’s name as they walked.
In Minneapolis, police clashed for days with protesters, using pepper spray and taking some into custody. On Friday, Chauvin, the officer seen in videos kneeling for eight minutes on Floyd’s neck, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Police shootings of unarmed African Americans in New York, Baltimore, Cleveland, Ferguson, Missouri, and other cities across the country have been captured on cellphone videos in the past few years and shared on social media. In the Lehigh Valley, hundreds protested in 2018 after a white South Whitehall Township officer shot and killed an unarmed Latino man. The officer was charged with voluntary manslaughter and acquitted in March by a Lehigh County jury.
Large demonstrations this weekend in such places as New York, Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., ranged from peaceful to violent, with police and protesters injured.
Addressing the violence in a tweet Saturday afternoon, President Donald Trump said, “Crossing State lines to incite violence is a FEDERAL CRIME! Liberal Governors and Mayors must get MUCH tougher or the Federal Government will step in and do what has to be done, and that includes using the unlimited power of our Military and many arrests.”
In Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul, many buildings have been torched in the past few days, including a police precinct, as protesters demanded justice for Floyd. The violence continued overnight Friday even after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz activated 500 National Guard members. On Saturday, he moved to activate more than 1,000 more. While the Pentagon said it was ready to provide military help, Walz on Saturday had not requested federal troops.
In Pennsylvania, along with the Lehigh Valley, rallies were held in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. Just as the Bethlehem protest was getting underway, Pennsylvania State Police said at a news conference that they hadn’t seen the violence here that was being reported in other states.
“All our protests have been peaceful,” said Lt. William Slaton, commander of the state police’s Heritage Affairs Section.
Hours later in Philadelphia, a peaceful protest at the Art Museum grew unruly when it reached the Municipal Services Building near City Hall, where protesters sprayed graffiti on the statue of controversial former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo and tried to topple it. A Philadelphia Inquirer reporter tweeted that things were getting “ugly,” with people throwing bottles at police. A short time later, there were reports of police vehicles on fire, shop windows smashed and stores being looted.
In Harrisburg, a peaceful protest at the Capitol turned rowdy with people breaking car windows and clashing with police, resulting in two officers being hospitalized, according to the Patriot-News.
And in Pittsburgh, the story was similar, with protesters breaking into businesses and police using gas to disperse the crowd.
The incidents prompted a response from Gov. Tom Wolf, who issued a statement around 5:30 p.m., saying, “we were all shaken by the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota,” and urging protesters “to be peaceful and to keep each other safe.”
Morning Call reporter Tom Shortell can be reached at 610-820-6168 or tshortell@mcall.com.
Morning Call reporter Jennifer Sheehan and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
