Protesters ask for justice, policy change as President Trump meets with Dallas leaders
As President Donald Trump met with local leaders at a Dallas church Thursday, protesters gathered outside, chanting “No justice, no peace,” while his supporters patiently waited for him to arrive.
Trump was at Gateway Church to “show unity” and talked about plans to boost the economy, support police, expand school choice and address health care disparities in communities of color.
Although the topic of communities of color was discussed, several black Dallas officials were not invited, including Police Chief Reneé Hall, Sheriff Marian Brown and District Attorney John Creuzot, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Before Trump arrived at the church, across from each other were two sets of people: Protesters for Black Lives Matter and those in support of the president.
Chants of “Black lives matter,” “Say his name: George Floyd,” and “No justice, no peace” were met by opposing chants of “All lives matter,” “Blue lives matter,” “Yellow lives matter” and “No cops, no peace.”
At one point, protesters were asked to move back to create more space and they were upset that officers didn’t ask the same of the Trump supporters. At one point, insults were exchanged between both groups.
And while both groups stood directly across from one another, there were more protesters than Trump supporters. “Black lives matter” and “Hand up, don’t shoot” posters outnumbered Trump 2020 signs and their voices were drowned out.
Minutes before Trump was escorted down Churchill Way to Gateway Church, the stand-off ceased and the protesters focused their attention on making the president hear them.
After he passed through, for about an hour, protesters chanted at Dallas police officers.
“You work for us!”
“Take your knee off my neck!”
“Black lives matter!”
“Hands up, don’t shoot!”
Then, they asked for each officer’s name and badge number and chanted them out.
While the bulk of the chanting was toward the front of the crowd, toward the back, Plano resident Stephanie Hopper, who is white, was with her black 8-year-old son.
Hopper said she came out to let Trump and the Dallas Police Department know that what they do is wrong. She also wanted to show her son what a peaceful protest is like and the issue that the country is facing.
“I’m terrified. I never want to let him leave my house,” Hopper said. “I know that it’s important to teach him what’s going on and to show him that he cannot trust the police.”
She believes it’s important that her son knows what to expect when he leaves the house. And, that he knows his life matters.
“It’s important to make your voice heard and to show the police that we will not tolerate this behavior,” Hopper said.
McKinney resident Tracy Thomas, a Trump supporter, said she came out to support the president.
“No matter who’s president, whether it’s Obama, Reagan, [or] Bush, I think they all deserve our respect,” Thomas said. “That’s why I’m here, it’s just to support the authorities because that’s what the law tells us to do.”
She said she was surprised protesters came out, but her response to them is that all lives matter.
“We all are human,” Thomas said. “There’s only one race, and it’s the human race.”
Keller resident Rene Torrez said she came out for the love of her president and country. She didn’t expect much opposition.
Torrez said the best way to handle things is to come together and not yell at each other.
“We’ve got to have rational conversations,” she said. “We’ve got to show love.”
She said she agrees with the protesters in that George Floyd’s life mattered and she hopes the Minneapolis officers involved in his death pay the penalty for what they did.
But, by making things about race, the country is never going to get better, Torrez said.
After Trump arrived, most of his supporters left. When the president left the church, protesters started marching down Churchill Way. They stopped to form a circle and stopped traffic. They then got on one knee and stayed that way for nearly 9 minutes, the same amount of time former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck.
Protesters then marched to the intersection of Preston Road and Churchill Way. Again, they knelt. This time, a man in a gray BMW accelerated while people were in front of his car, causing them to start kicking his car.
Officers then went after the BMW.
Cedar Hill resident Shenita Cleveland, who is black, said Trump came to talk race relations on the white side of Dallas and not with “our people.”
Cleveland said for things to get better for the black community, policy changes must be made and black leaders need to be involved in that decision making.
“We must heal the community,” she said.
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 2:31 PM.
