Several hundred protestors took their voices to Fort Worth City Hall on Thursday calling for justice and change in the wake of national outrage following the death of George Floyd.
Floyd’s death has sparked demonstrations through cities in the United States for more than a week following the release of a widely-circulated video showed ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin firmly pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes as he pleaded for air. Prosecutors have since elevated charges for Chauvin from third-degree murder to second-degree murder, while three other officers are now also facing charges.
In Fort Worth, protesters have been marching through the downtown area since last Friday.
On Thursday, they took their voices to City Hall prior to a city council meeting.
City council members voted unanimously not to extend a city-wide curfew which had been in place since Monday.
Mayor Betsy Price shared a few words before the crowd, praising them for peaceful protesting efforts.
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“My door is open always, but I think it’s more important to come out here where you are to come together in unity here,” Price said.
A few speakers were escorted away when they kept talking after a three-minute time limit but most simply spoke their minds.
Antonio Harris of Fort Worth said while the protest was for Floyd, it went beyond that and was a fight against systemic injustice.
Harris said he hopes these kind of protests will inspire change for future generations.
“Our struggle is different than their struggle. They have to make a pathway for themselves,” he told NBC 5.
Bridgette Ralliford of Fort Worth said she was there for her children.
“I am a single mother to four biracial children. In any world, my kids are black,” Ralliford said. “I remember Tamir Rice. A 12-year-old who was playing with a toy gun. I have an 8-year-old with down syndrome. If he goes outside with a toy gun, how am I supposed to know he’s not going to get killed?”
