1,500 honor George Floyd, decry racism in peaceful Warren march

WARREN — More than 1,500 voices roared the name of George Floyd, and those of several other unarmed African-Americans killed in police confrontations across the country.

A large group of demonstrators marched Perkins Park's circular drive just after 6 p.m. Monday in honor of Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.

Derek Chauvin, a 19-year veteran with the police department, has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter after a video showed him with a knee on Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, while Floyd said, “I can’t breathe” and yelled out for his mother.

The group looped the city center and returned to the park's amphitheater without incident, at times drowned out only by the sounds of supportive motorists' blaring horns.

The group was peaceful, but anything but quiet.

"Hands up, don't shoot," they cried, or, "No justice, no peace; no racist police." Others carried signs that read "Legalize melanin" or "No more white silence."

Groups passed out bottles of water to the marchers, drawing them from coolers that also held jugs of milk, which demonstrators have used to counter the effects of police pepper spray.

Warren police and Trumbull County sheriff's deputies spaced themselves among the long procession — or, at times, marched arm-in-arm with them.

City Mayor William "Doug" Franklin said city officials learned of the Monday protest on Friday and worked to prepare the city in case of violence, adding that law enforcement intelligence suggested antagonist groups may be targeting the city.

"We kept doing our work to make sure that we could protect the protesters, make sure their voices were heard ... and at the same time protecting property," he said. "A lot of times at these rallies there are outsiders who want to see chaos and disruption.

"So far it's been extremely positive and I'm happy about that," Franklin said before the march, as the initial group of about 100 people started to swell to a diverse crowd of more than 1,000.

Unlike the skirmishes and minor vandalism seen during similar protests Sunday in Youngstown, the Perkins Park protest saw no major incident — aside from some teen fisticuffs and at least one antagonizer whom others pushed out of the gathering.

Three area veterans decked out in camouflage fatigues and vests, with rifles slung over their shoulders, watched from inside the Trumbull County Veterans Memorial as the procession passed the corner of Mahoning Avenue and West Market Street. They passed out bottled water to marchers, and kept it clear for protesters to rest.

One whom compatriots identified as the "captain" — he declined to give his full name, yet his name tape read "5tarfish" — said marchers were "respectful," and noted they weren't blocking traffic.

Thom Duma Fine Jewelers along Market Street had already boarded up its windows with what appeared to be planks of black-painted particle board. On them, a spray-painted message: "We stand with you."

Julian Walker, pastor of Restoration Christian Fellowship Church along Main Avenue Southwest, barely needed his bullhorn when bellowing to the amphitheater crowd.

"I never in my life thought I would see black faces, white faces, Latino faces, Asian faces, Hispanic faces — all saying 'black lives matter.' Without black lives mattering, no lives can matter," he said, before urging Monday's demonstrators to vote in November's general election for public officials who will fight to dismantle systemic racism in the country.

Charlene Blackwell, a relative of the march's organizer, 20-year-old Ty'onna Powell, said the community and police must work together to save lives.

"You will get cooperation when we get accountability. This isn't a black-and-white issue, it's a common decency issue. It's a humanity issue," she said to cheers and affirmations.

Franklin said he feels video of Floyd's death was the "light that sparked the powder keg" of racial protests seen nationwide.

"My No. 1 assignment is to protect life and property. In doing that, we have a better opportunity to talk about systemic change in our system — how we carry out police policies and procedures, how we adjudicate these cases," Franklin said. "But we can get there quicker if we have peaceful demonstrations that are constructive and not self-destructive."

Powell, of Warren, coordinated Monday's gathering almost entirely on her own, first gauging interest with a Facebook post that was shared more than 100 times overnight.

"With me being an African-American — not even just from this community but from this country — it just sparks something inside me every time that I open up my social media and I see an unarmed black man or unarmed black woman being gunned down for something that could have been resolved peacefully," Powell said.

She and the more than 1,500 others lining the amphitheater's stone seating rows got down on one knee as Walker's brother, pastor Joseph Walker, read the names of unarmed blacks killed.

"I think it turned out amazing. All of the vibes were there," Powell said. Though it's the first time she's organized a civil display by herself, she hopes it's not the last. She wants to organize larger marches to bring the same "good energy" felt Monday in Warren to other cities that may be primed for violent protests.

"Seeing all these people here, I just underestimated myself. But now I know I can use my platform and bring my city together and create change — and that's what matters the most," Powell said. "It goes to show it's not the people. The people coming together are congregating peacefully. It's just the bad apples."

Monday's planned demonstration ended just before 7:30 p.m., an hour before the citywide curfew was set to take effect. Many dispersed in each direction from the amphitheater, and one large group continued to circle downtown, signs held high and chants ringing down the corridors. At least one person meandered back through Perkins Park, picking up loose trash on the way back to his car.

After 8:30 p.m., the large group of marchers last seen passing through the courthouse square had dispersed, leaving disparate, small groups of stragglers whom police let pass. Mahoning Matters didn't witness any arrests.

This story was originally published June 2, 2020 at 3:52 AM with the headline "1,500 honor George Floyd, decry racism in peaceful Warren march."