Some push back against Fort Worth protesters marching into downtown, West 7th businesses
Fort Worth protesters have marched through the city for two weeks, demanding changes in policy and policing in Dallas-Fort Worth.
United My Justice hosted each protest up until Sunday, when the group of hundreds split in two. United My Justice continued marching in various places across the city, while a younger group — formed by groups Enough is Enough and Black Love — branched off.
That group has focused their protesting efforts on areas with heavy foot traffic downtown and on West Seventh Street. Each night Monday through Thursday, 15 to 150 protesters have marched into businesses. They’ve chanted in Target aisles and through restaurants, and some business owners and patrons have grown increasingly frustrated. On Thursday, police started blocking protesters from businesses after an incident inside Texas de Brazil on Houston Street.
Police spokesman Daniel Segura said it is up to owners and managers to make sure their businesses are not interrupted by protesters. If protesters do anything illegal, Segura said, police would step in. Some businesses may be able to seek criminal trespass charges against protesters, he said.
Lucid Shinobi, one of the leaders of the younger protest group, said the protesters are trying to involve the community by going into businesses, especially those who may not be aware of what’s happening.
“They don’t understand what’s going on because it’s not affecting them yet. So what we do, is we put ourselves in a situation where they are affected. Now they’re listening, now we’re here,” he said. “The message to Target was to let people know we all shop here.”
Roy Montelongo, an organizer with Black Love, told his group it will continue to disrupt businesses. He said the goal is to hurt the sales tax flowing from these businesses as well as raise awareness for their cause.
On Monday about 150 to 200 people walked through the aisles of Target at Montgomery Plaza and shouted, “Black lives matter!” Some customers raised a fist in solidarity with the group, others recorded on their cell phones.
After going to Target, protesters walked to Crockett Street and split up. Half walked into the Social House and half marched into Concrete Cowboy, where employees rang cowbells and cheered.
Inside the Social House, about 50 protesters took seats at the bar and booths. Some asked for water. Protest leader Trice Jones led chants on a megaphone: “Black lives matter, blue lives murder.”
Manager Stephon Davis told protesters that while they had a right to be there, customers had a right to eat in peace. He said the restaurant closed on Wednesday to allow staff to attend protests and that the restaurant owner supported their cause. He said he would have given protesters the use of the restaurant if they had asked.
“From the point of view of the guests, I get it. As a Black man in the world, I understand,” Davis told the Star-Telegram. “You gotta do what you gotta do to make a change. My thing is, just as I see it from a Black man’s point of view, I see it from a businessman’s point of view.”
Davis said he wished the protesters had checked “to see if the business you’re going to protest in even supports you, because we do.”
But Jones told him that wasn’t the point and told him to call Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and Police Chief Ed Kraus and tell them to meet protesters’ demands “so we can stop disturbing the peace here at your beautiful restaurant.”
The group has been asking protesters to sign petitions. Protesters want the city to eliminate police funding for tactical weapons and equipment and to reallocate it for mental health initiatives. They also want school districts to cancel their relationships with the police and replace school resource officers with counselors trained in dealing with active shooter situations.
After about 20 minutes, the group moved on to Your Mom’s House on Bledsoe Street, whose owner, Emil Bragdon, has been accused of racial discrimination. Someone had locked the door of the bar before protesters could go in, so the group stood on and near the porch and chanted, “No justice, no peace.”
A man watching in the open doorway of Magnolia Motor Lounge told another man to “hurry up and lock the door” as protesters marched past. Some protesters rushed through the parking lot and banged on the walls after the men shut the door.
Tuesday night, protesters returned to Crockett Street to find the Social House and Concrete Cowboy had locked their doors — even as customers ate inside — to keep protesters out.
Protesters sat on the restaurant patios and yelled at customers through the windows.
A police officer pulled forward in an SUV and got out to talk to one protester. The officer told the protester not to worry about his car being so close. One of the business owners told police he was going to “take matters into his own hands” if police did not do anything, so the officer wanted the owner to see that police were watching the situation, the protester said.
About 20 protesters walked into Hopdoddy’s on Tuesday evening. A handful of people grabbed bowls or trays and hit them on tables as the group chanted. One protester danced by the counter and hit a bowl with a spoon, another shook a tambourine. Employees and customers mostly went about their business, and after about 20 minutes, four employees cheered and danced with protesters.
Jones explained why the protesters have been going to businesses.
“We want to make them uncomfortable enough to where they’re complaining to the managers and they’re like, ‘Why are they in the streets every night and what can we do to get everyone off the streets?’ ” she said.
On Wednesday night, protesters went into Gloria’s shouting expletives and “Black Lives Matter” and “No justice, no peace ...”
“This does nothing but annoy people,” one diner shouted. “You’re not helping your cause, you’re just making people dislike you. You’re just making people dislike you and your cause.”
When an argument between a protester and diner got heated, friends jumped in to separate the two as they tried to take swings at each other. Neither man got a hit in and the protesters left the restaurant. The manager toured the restaurant as it quieted down, apologizing to patrons and thanking those who remained calm
Thursday’s Black Love protest grew tense after protesters entered Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian steakhouse across from the Tarrant County Courthouse.
Multiple protesters said a patron in the restaurant threw water in a woman’s face. The group demanded police arrest the patron for assault. Officers replied that they had filed a report.
Police presence grew after the sun set, and protesters spent much of the evening outside the restaurant. At one point they lined up up almost nose-to-nose with officers who blocked the entrance after a group of protesters attempted to re-enter the restaurant.
Black Love marches have been getting smaller each night, but organizer Montelongo told protesters they can continue their fight online.
The group is working on plans for community service work in Stop Six and plans a Juneteenth community barbecue to raise money for a crisis center it wants the city to create.
Montelongo said Wednesday that the group’s actions outside of protests could determine the success of their demands.
“We have to put our money where our mouth is,” he said.
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 2:28 PM.
