Arlington crowd marches along bridge over Interstate 20, then some shift to City Hall
Payton Dukes is frustrated, more frustrated than she ever thought she would be at 19.
But she and her mom decided to turn those feelings into action Monday.
They joined a crowd that grew to more than 200 on a bridge near the Arlington Highlands Monday evening for a protest spurred by the recent death of George Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis.
“Something has got to be done,” Dukes said. “We are showing our city we aren’t blind or deaf to what’s going on.
“If nobody fights for us, then we will.”
Her mother, Nicole Jackson, said this was an event they had to attend.
“I’m tired of our people being treated any old way,” she said. “People of different skin colors don’t have to endure what we endure.”
She held a sign that summed up her message: “Stop killing us.”
The protest began around 4 p.m. with a few dozen people holding signs — “My life matters,” “I can’t breathe,” “Give peace a chance,” “If you ain’t with us, we ain’t with y’all” — on a bridge over Interstate 20, so motorists below could see them. Police ultimately closed the bridge to vehicles.
The crowd grew over the next two hours and began marching up and down the pedestrian side of the bridge, chanting “No justice, no peace” and “Stop killing us.”
Many stood on the bridge holding signs or raising one closed fist into the air. Drivers below honked, waved and at times, stopped their vehicles on the highway to respond to the protesters. One driver climbed out of his sunroof and stood on top of his car in the middle of the interstate taking pictures of the protesters. Another car stopped next to him, temporarily blocking at least two lanes of traffic.
Moving protest
After three hours at the bridge, a group of protesters moved over to Arlington’s City Hall.
“We’ve got too many people losing their lives every day,” one person said over a megaphone.
The group chanted “Black lives matter.”
Many began kneeling, with their hands in the air, repeatedly chanting: “Hands up, don’t shoot.”
They held a moment of silence for Floyd before chanting “no justice, no peace.” They later chanted, “I can’t breathe,” some of Floyd’s last words.
Some then laid in the street as a man with a megaphone said: “We are trying to get more than justice this time. This is a revolution.”
A male speaker later said that this “is not liberals versus conservatives. This is right versus wrong.”
After protesting about an hour near City Hall, the group began marching away, chanting “no justice, no peace.”
They walked around Arlington, protesting, for two more hours. Arlington police stayed on the outskirts of the protest.
An Arlington police spokesman said once the group left City Hall, some protesters were verbally aggressive with police and others threw rocks at police vehicles.
“We support their cause, but we can’t have damage to property or individuals,” Lt. Christopher Cook said.
Protesters were back at City Hall after 10 p.m. Some stayed in cars listening to music and singing along. Others continued chanting. Smoke and the smell of burning tires flooded the area.
As they marched through Arlington, protesters ripped down at least two US flags. One person was seen carrying a flag on fire.
The first protest
Earlier, Sammy Cooper, a 20-year-old Arlington woman, said she organized the first protest at the bridge because she saw protests in Dallas and Fort Worth, but none in Arlington.
“Arlington isn’t exempt from police brutality,” Cooper said.
She stressed that Monday’s event was a peaceful protest — “no violence, no looting.” And that’s what she told the Arlington police officer who stopped to talk to her.
Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams put out a statement noting that nonviolent protests are the best way for people to deliver their message.
“Racial discrimination has no place in our society and we stand united in our support of peaceful protest for something that happens far too often in this country,” his statement read. “We invite people of all backgrounds to unite and recognize the voices of black Americans crying out to be heard right now.
“Racism is real and local governments will play a crucial role on the road to recovery, particularly when it comes to keeping an open mind so we can mend the division and end this painful cycle. As Mayor, I promise to be a force for good and answer the call to create real change.”
This was the latest protest, following a weekend of protests in Fort Worth, Dallas — and across the country — that were spurred by last week’s death of Floyd. Some of those protests turned violent, prompting officials in Fort Worth and Dallas to put in place curfews.
Floyd died after a white police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for about eight minutes. Several days later, Officer Derek Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin was fired along with three other officers who were at the scene.
Robb Base, a 24-year-old Arlington man, said he woke up Monday and knew he had to participate in this protest.
“It’s just an injustice,” he said. “We’ve been going through too much.
“When I woke up today and looked at my son, I had enough.”
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 5:44 PM.
