Brownwood News – The Brownwood chapter of Black Lives Matter conducted a peaceful protest Monday in downtown Brownwood. The purpose of the event was to protest the unjust killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and racial injustice everywhere.
Event organizer, Stephanie Goins, (left) spoke from the steps of the courthouse: “An innocent man was taken, he was killed. He will never see his son again. He’ll never get to spend Christmas with his family again. He’ll never hug his mama. He’s not the only one. Jordan Davis. Walter Scott. John Crawford. Anthony Hill. Oscar Grant. And so many more. For too long black people have been seen as thugs and criminals. We are here today to say that black people are doctors, lawyers, teachers, sons, daughters, moms, and dads. Black lives do matter. This is a peaceful protest. We want it to remain peaceful. We do not want to cause any harm to anyone. We would like to walk arm-in-arm with these police officers. If you have any intention of harm, you may as well leave this protest right now, because it will remain peaceful for the entire time.”
The crowd of more than 200 persons of all races marched from the courthouse to Brownwood City Hall, chanting slogans of protest and carrying signs such as: I Can’t Breathe, No Justice No Peace, Silence Is Betrayal, Justice For Floyd, Hands Up Don’t Shoot.
At City Hall, (left) the protesters laid on the ground, face down, hands behind the back, for nine minutes, in recognition of the nine minutes that George Floyd was held on the ground by the Minneapolis police with a knee on his neck. For the nine minutes, the protesters chanted “I Can’t Breathe! I Can’t Breathe!” More than a few broke into tears during this part of the demonstration. Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes and Brownwood Police Officer James Kidd joined the protesters on the ground for nine minutes.
The protesters then marched back to the courthouse. Officer Kidd spoke to the crowd from the steps of the courthouse: “I had officers calling me saying ‘We have to be out there, we have to join arm-in-arm.’ I said absolutely, we are united in this. And we don’t want corrupt cops. We don’t want unjust killing… I have never been more impacted in my life than when I laid down on the ground for nine minutes. Nobody should have to do that for one second. Nobody should have to go through that. You get a totally different perspective. So we are committed. I’d like to thank God for this opportunity. Let’s learn from it, grow from it, everybody together.”
Angel Jones, one of the protest organizers commented: “We are protesting about equality, everybody being treated equally. I have two black sons, and it’s scary to think that one day this could happen to them. I come from a bi-racial family and I was taught to love everybody and I just want everybody to be the same. We do have good police officers, we do have bad police officers. Every race has drug dealers, murderers. You can’t just point out one (race), it’s everybody. We are all equal in God’s eyes.”
Brownwood City Councilman Draco Miller: “I think the protest is very peaceful. I appreciate everybody for coming out. It shows the love, it shows the unity, it shows the solidarity we have in Brownwood Texas. We appreciate Chief Kading and his officers, and everybody for coming out and recognizing the injustice that was done.”
Brownwood Chief of Police Ed Kading: “I really appreciate the fact that they are peaceful, as they promised to be. No one appreciates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution more than me. What I really hope is that Brownwood can be the example for the country. You can have a peaceful protest. You can bring injustice to light. Maybe this will start a longer, deeper conversation. What happened to Mr. Floyd was completely uncalled for. It was completely unjust. We have to trust the justice system to take care of that from here. But I am proud of Brownwood. I expected that we would behave this way. And I support the cause, I really do. This is how you bring things to light.”
After the event, organizer Stephanie Goins commented: “Everything was beautiful. It went really well, and I’m very happy with the turnout. And I want everybody to know you are not alone in this anymore. You have more than 200 people and maybe 24-36 officers out here. We even had one officer lay on the ground with us, and the Mayor. And I want to say thank you to them, because that was courage, to get on the ground with all of us.”
Mayor Haynes closed the peaceful protest with a prayer from the steps of the courthouse: “Heavenly Father we pray for our community. We pray for the City of Brownwood. We pray that those who have been affected by racial injustice will know that their cries have been heard, and will know that we have taken them to heart. Father we know that only you can mend a broken heart. And we pray for those who are broken hearted over the death of George Floyd. We pray for the man’s family, we pray for his community, we pray for his city, we pray for his state. Father we pray that you will help us see a path to help end that violence. Father I pray for our law enforcement today. Father I pray blessings upon all of our officers who go about their day with racial equality, and to do their job fairly and honestly. And I thank you for the hearts of those wonderful men. Father bring us more like them. Bring us officers who will serve justice equally. God I thank you for the rights we have in this country to peacefully protest. I am thankful for this group of people who have come here today to show that their hearts and their minds are with all of those who have been affected by racial injustice, including the family of George Floyd. Father we don’t know what else to do, but pray. We don’t have all the answers, but God we trust that you do. In Romans Chapter 8, the Bible says that if we don’t know how to pray or what to pray for, that we should ask the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and prayers. And Father we ask that your Holy Spirit would intercede upon our community, would intercede upon the lives of our officers, would intercede upon the lives of those affected by racial injustice. Father we pray that you will help us know what to do, how to act, and what to pray for. Father just bless our community, bless those who are here, bless them for being. Through your Son’s holy and precious name we pray. Amen.” (story by Mike Blagg)
