Protests over the death of George Floyd continued for an 11th day in the D.C. area.
Demonstrators gathered in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House, as they have been for nearly two weeks. Among them were Cherise Mattheson and her 12-year-old son, Maurice Rorie.
Mattheson wanted her son to “really have his own experience in seeing what has transpired in the city,” and was happy to see so many people turning out. She allowed, however, that she had mixed emotions about the display.
She began attending protests in D.C. at the Million Man March, held when she was 12 years old.
“I felt like my protest before I became a mother would help to create a new standard for when I became a mother, and that’s not the case,” Mattheson said.
Rorie had similar sentiments: “It makes me feel happy that we’re able to speak our mind, but also sad because they’re not hearing us, and the same stuff keeps happening.”
Mattheson added that the protests were working to draw attention to the problem of police brutality, especially toward African Americans, but also, people are contributing in ways other than showing up: Raising money, making phone calls to legislators and more.
“I don’t think there’s really any point in judging” people who aren’t in the streets, unless they’re making a conscious effort not to help, she said. “I honestly think people are doing the best they can. … Our attention should be on what our contributions to the movement are.”
Montgomery County march blocks traffic, demanding justice over deadly police shootings
Almost a hundred people showed up at a historically black church, marching across River Road while calling for Montgomery County police officers to be charged in fatal shootings involving black men over the past decade.
The group gathered on the steps of Macedonia Baptist Church in Bethesda, where several people delivered speeches about demands for justice before heading across River Road to a construction site where they say crews are also unearthing an African burial ground dating back to the 1800s.
Protesters are angry that no law enforcement members have faced punishment in a series of deadly shootings.
Finan Berhe was shot and killed on May 7, 2020, when organizers said he was in crisis and in need of help.
Robert White was shot and killed in June 2018, while out for a walk in his own neighborhood.
And Emmanuel Okutuga died at the hands of police in February 2011, when, protesters claimed, the prosecutor’s office “mistakenly” deleted the video footage.
“They all had disabilities,” Marsha Coleman-Adebayo of the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition said. “And instead of policemen calling and getting some help, they blow their brains out.”
Several protesters stood in the shared middle yellow-lined turning lane holding their fists in the air and chanting as cars drove by and honked in support.
“We’ve watched in Minnesota now how they have quickly arrested people and charged them with murder,” says Coleman-Adebayo. “But in Montgomery County we’ve basically gotten head fakes.”
The coalition, along with Showing Up For Racial Justice, are also calling for a boycott of non-black-owned businesses until involved officers are charged.
Other protests in the area also included a group of Catholic protesters gathered at Lafayette Square in D.C. for a “prayerful protest.” The prayer began at noon and the group then moved in prayer toward the White House.
In the Van Ness area of the District, a march began at the University of the District of Columbia campus and headed through the Woodley Park area. Another demonstration occurred at the Chase Bank on 14th Street and New York Avenue, in Northwest, with protesters heading for the White House.
Meanwhile, D.C. public defenders announced a gathering at the Superior Court in the District for a march.
Two protests were planned in Silver Spring on Monday. The first occurred at the Blair Park Shopping Center on East West Highway. The second happened at Northwood High School.
In Laurel, protesters planned to meet at Granville Gude Park.
Floyd memorial
Monday’s protests come as Houston held a six-hour viewing for the man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd grew up in Houston, the final stop in a series of memorials in his honor.
Massive crowds of gathered in D.C. on Saturday, and demonstrations on Sunday were smaller.
On Sunday, protesters marched and chanted, “Black Lives Matter. What is his name? George Floyd. Say her name. Breonna Taylor. No justice, no peace. No racist police.”
Saturday in the District, police told WTOP one arrest was made for property destruction.
On Sunday, there were no reported arrests.
WTOP’s Adisa Hargett-Robinson and Rick Massimo contributed to this report.
