Protests remain peaceful in Raleigh while voicing demands for change in police department

On the 15th consecutive day of protests in downtown Raleigh, protesters demanded change from the city’s leadership, particularly with its police department.

Saturday’s protests, which were organized by N.C. B.O.R.N., started around 4 p.m. with about 150 people. Over the course of the afternoon and evening, the group traveled through downtown, marching to Nash Square, the Executive Mansion, eventually marching on train tracks and ending up at Central Prison.

They were joined by people who have been making the daily protests part of their routine. And they heard a few times from a woman whose son was fatally shot by Raleigh police.

Gloria Mayo is the mother of Keith Collins, a Raleigh man who was killed in February. Mayo said she wanted to be a voice for her son, who was 52 when he died, and other people who have been killed by police.

“They can’t speak no more for themselves, so we have to speak for them,” she said in an emotional speech to the crowd.

She called for defunding the police department, a similar demand from many community activists across the country. She said police aren’t following their own policies to refrain from excessive force.

In the case of her son, Raleigh police said they received a 911 caller said they saw a large black handgun fall from Collins’ shirt. When police arrived to investigate, they chased him and shot him while he refused to drop a BB gun and raise his hands, The News & Observer reported.

“We want justice,” Mayo shouted, with protesters chanting the words back to her.

“It’s time for a change,” Mayo said. “We’ve got to keep fighting. ... They can make all the policies they want. If you don’t follow the policies, policy ain’t no good.”

Thousands of people have marched in Raleigh over the past two weeks to protest police brutality and racism, after the death of George Floyd.

Floyd died last month after now-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, despite his pleas that he couldn’t breathe.

Some groups have protested around the Capitol building, Nash Square, the Executive Mansion and other areas around downtown Raleigh. Others have held vigils in remembrance of those who died at the hands of police brutality.

Saturday, protesters changed while marching: “No justice, no peace. Abolish the police,” and “Whose streets? Our streets.”

Supporting a movement

Kelly Hruska, a 20-year-old East Carolina student, moved back to the Triangle in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic. She said she joined the protests early on and has been marching on a regular basis to show her support for organizers.

“It’s like, this is my life now,” she said. “Really, I just show up and support organizers here. It’s their movement, really, and I’m here to be a body on the ground.”

She said she has appreciates the stories she has heard from speakers each night, who often tell about their own encounters with racism and police. She said she has been impressed watching young leaders emerge.

“To hear them talk about their experiences, there’s so much to be learned from sitting here and listening,” she said. “It’s been really powerful to hear their experiences and hear their stories. It’s amazing to watch young people, especially, step up. They’re leading groups of a hundred people.”

Hruska said she wants the city council to recognize demands of Raleigh PACT, a group that has been advocating for police reforms for several years.

“Even if they were just to say, ‘We hear you,’ that would be something,” Hruska said.

Jamal Alexander of Raleigh has been to several protests and demonstrations in Raleigh and Durham in recent weeks, and came out again to listen to speakers in Nash Square on Saturday evening.

“It’s been nice to see the changes around the nation in terms of police reform,” Alexander said, citing Raleigh’s adoption of the “8 Can’t Wait” reforms that include banning chokeholds and strangleholds, and shooting at moving vehicles. He called that a good start.

But Alexander, 22, who works for a civil engineering firm, said he’d like to see police funding diverted to mental health, education and other social programs that get at the root causes of crime and can help prevent it.

“Until that happens, I’m going to try to be out here on a regular basis,” he said.

Marching to Central Prison

Around 6:30 p.m. the group marched on the train tracks to Central Prison, where they chanted “We see you. We love you” and “We hear you. You matter,” to two different prison buildings.

At one point a train approached. As the train passed by, the conductor honked his horn to the delight of protesters, who cheered. A man sitting in the passenger seat of the conductor’s booth held his fist out of the window.

While congregating in a parking lot near the prison, NC BORN organizer Lauren Howell addressed the crowd while volunteers handed out water, fruit, chips and pre-packaged meals at nearby folding tables.

Other wrote messages on the asphalt in chalk, including Collins’ name, “eat the rich” and “blue lives murder.”

Taari Coleman, an NC BORN organizer, spoke at length about prison reform before leading a chant against solitary confinement.

“I don’t want a punitive system,” she said. “I want a rehabilitating system.”

Mayo, Keith Collins’ mother, stood on the gravel right off the train tracks outside Central Prison. She carried a sign with a photo of her late son. She said she hadn’t walked this much since she was in high school.

“It’s very important, not only for me and my son, but for all the mothers that had sons killed, or black men killed,” she said. “It’s important that all of these people come together.

“Every chance I get, I’m going to be out here.”

At the end of the night, the group marched back to the center of Nash Square, where Mayo addressed the crowd a final time.

“Thank you for being here,” she said to applause.