Fort Worth demonstrators create petitions to make their protest demands clear
Demonstrators with Black Love gathered at the Tarrant County Courthouse in downtown Fort Worth on Wednesday night before marching down Main to 7th Street and heading to Montgomery Plaza.
Along the way, the protesters chanted “Black lives matter,” “Whose streets? Our streets,” and “No justice, no peace.”
As an organization, Black Love has separated itself from other protest groups through the use of petitions and potential partnerships with local charitable organizations.
CiCi Leake, one of the organizers with Black Love and co-author of the petitions, said the three measures seek to defund and “demilitarize” police, fund a community crisis center, and remove Fort Worth police officers from schools.
The petition to defund police had around 600 signatures before the 6 p.m. march started Wednesday. Leake said the petition calls for police access to rifles, shotguns, riot gear and tanks to be removed. She said that, ideally, it would do away with SWAT, any tactical gear like night observation goggles and armored vehicles as well.
By defunding those, Leake said, the demand of the second petition is possible. At around 700 signatures on Wednesday, that petition demands the city take money that went into purchase and upkeep of police tactical equipment to fund a new community crisis center that would remove police responsibility to respond to mental health calls, drug use calls and family issues.
The third petition, demanding the removal of police from schools, calls for school resource officers to be replaced with counselors trained in dealing with active shooter situations and has about 1,000 signatures, Leake said.
The group passed out fliers with QR codes linking to the petitions at the Super Target behind Montgomery Plaza, asking demonstrators to post them up at restaurants and local businesses in the area.
Organizer Roy Montelongo said the organization also plans to extend their work beyond protests, heading to the Stop 6 neighborhood and working in community gardens and hosting a Juneteenth community barbecue, still in the works, that will raise money for the crisis center they want to see established.
“We’re going to put our money where our mouth is,” Montelongo said.
Montelongo said the group’s goal is peaceful protest, community service and creating positive and sustainable change in the community.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 6:09 PM.