'I don’t want to be a hashtag': A look back at a turbulent week in DC as told by protesters

WASHINGTON — For 10 straight days, protesters marched and rallied through the streets of the nation’s capital against racial inequality and police brutality to demand justice for those killed by police, particularly George Floyd, a black man who died on Memorial Day after a white Minneapolis police officer held his knee on his neck for almost nine minutes.

The District’s tumultuous week included President Donald Trump and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser clashing over a significantly increased military presence, along with law enforcement forcibly removing peaceful protesters Monday from Lafayette Square, the block north of the White House, and the president posing with a Bible.

More: Americans' perceptions of police drop significantly in one week as protests continue, survey finds

By Saturday night, the military and police presence appeared to shrink and Trump on Sunday tweeted he ordered the National Guard to leave the city.

USA TODAY spoke with several protesters throughout the week. Here is what they said about demonstrating in Washington.

'Love everybody that don’t look like you'

During a brief pause between music playing and protesters chanting Thursday afternoon, Taji Kelly kept the attention of protesters standing at the police perimeter lining the edges of Lafayette Square.

With her 6-year-old daughter holding a “Black Lives Matter” sign and standing by her side, Kelly spoke for about five minutes about the responsibility she said parents, particularly white parents, have in discussing race and privilege with their children.

“Everybody that’s out here, if you’re white, just because your baby is a baby do not mean you cannot explain what’s going on,” the 28-year-old acting general manager of one of several Busboys and Poets restaurants told the crowd. The local chain also functions as a community gathering space in the Washington, D.C.-area for activism, culture and art and was named to honor poet Langston Hughes.

“Love everybody that don’t look like you,” Kelly told the crowd.

When Kelly finished what she described as a “spur-of-the-moment” speech, protesters cheered around her as she caught her breath. She said it was her first day protesting because of work obligations, and her daughter was eager to attend her first protest.

“I’m proud to see people showing up for this cause,” Kelly said about protesting racial injustice and police brutality. “It’s emotional for me, but I’m excited because we have to start somewhere. So to see that, it’s beautiful. And I’m just so glad my daughter gets to experience it.”

'It’s not a place for photo ops'

Rev. Lesley Krauland, of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Bethesda, Md., gathered with protesters Tuesday outside St. John’s Episcopal Church next to Lafayette Square, where law enforcement used chemical irritants against peaceful protesters Monday just before President Trump’s visit to the church, where a fire had been started in the basement the night before.

She — like Bishop Mariann Budde, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington — criticized the use of force against protesters and said Trump was “abusing his position.” She joined the protesters to lend her support to the city and its black communities and to honor George Floyd.

“St. John’s is one of the oldest parishes and is in the center of the city,” Krauland said about the 205-year-old church. “It has significant symbolic value, but more than anything, it has spiritual value. It’s not a place for photo ops.”

The church is across the street from Lafayette Square and a block north of the White House. Since its first service in 1816, every U.S. president has attended a service there, according to the church’s website, which describes it as “the Church of the Presidents.”

Following Trump’s photos in front of the church, Bishop Budde slammed the president for utilizing the Bible and church “as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.” And Krauland said she wanted to publicly stand with Budde, too.

'Mommy, we cannot sit at home'

Eleven-year-old Jeremiah Badgett — who lives in Waldorf, Md., a Washington suburb — begged his parents to take him to D.C.’s protest Sunday “because of George Floyd.”

His mother, Danielle Badgett, said she also wanted to go, but she and his father were concerned about his safety at the protest because he uses a wheelchair. So they told him they’d take a couple of days to craft a plan first.

“He said, ‘Mommy, we cannot sit at home,’” Danielle said Tuesday while standing with protesters near the police perimeter around Lafayette Square. “He gave me the courage to come, and that says a lot. If he had his way, we’d be out here every day.”

When asked what he hopes happens as a result of the protests, Jeremiah said: “The police officer gets arrested.”

Initially, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, was the only one charged after Floyd’s death. But Wednesday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the charges were upped to now include second-degree murder. Three other officers were also newly charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

'I don’t want to be a hashtag'

Malaika Simmons, a 24-year-old black queer woman, wasn’t planning on speaking to the hundreds of people at a queer and trans rally and march Saturday at Dupont Circle in the heart of northwest Washington. But as rally leaders and participants passed the megaphone around, she said she felt safe and compelled to speak out in a specifically black, queer space.

“People who look like me are slain and murdered every day just because of the color of their skin and gone stereotypes prescribed on us through the media,” Simmons said, reading from a previously posted Instagram caption she wrote.

“I don’t want to be a hashtag. You know why? I want to be able to live and feel safe and not have to worry about racist police officers profiling me,” she said.

Simmons, a lifelong D.C. resident, said people encouraged her and others to take the megaphone.

“It’s amazing that all these people came to this specific rally to show they support and want to protect black queer and trans folks,” Simmons said after her speech. “And that just goes to show the power of social media in rallying people to come to this event and making sure we’re affirming and lifting up organizers who are black and queer. And this means their word has gotten out.”

'We just wanted to be a part of this'

Trumpet player Jay Carnegie, a church musician, said he and his Crush Funk Brass bandmates planned to set up Thursday on the corner of 16th Street, on the the same block as St. John’s Church, and play for protesters as they marched by.

What he said he didn’t expect was dozens of people stopping in their tracks to hear the group perform.

“We just wanted to be a part of this,” said 38-year-old Carnegie, who lives in Maryland and plays the keyboard, piano and organ.

“We usually perform mostly in D.C., like on the outskirts of the heart of the city,” he continued. “But today was real critical. We met about it, talked about it, and we decided this is for the people. We said we wanted to do something to give people a sense of hope and to get everybody’s spirits uplifted. We wanted to bring some positivity to the city.”

Six of the band’s seven members performed Thursday evening, and Carnegie said they’re marching band alumni who went to historically black colleges like Howard University, Bowie State University and the University of the District of Columbia.

For protesters, their song list included “Let It Be,” “O-o-h Child” and “Hallelujah.”

“We have different repertoires for different occasions, but today is a very, very special day,” Carnegie said. “This is a performance that’s near and dear to our hearts. We felt like it was necessary for us to be out here. …

“Rioting is one thing, but showing people an alternative — I look at a lot of youth out here, and if I was a youth, I’d want something positive to look up to, so this molds what they want to do in their future.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: George Floyd protests: A look back at a turbulent week in DC