by Mary Campagna
Due to my lifelong persistent promotion of Racial Unity, I was there for the impressive speeches at Washington Park in Roanoke on Saturday, May 30 at 3 pm, to honor the memory of George Floyd and so many other Black Americans who were unarmed and murdered by the police. We (Black, Brown and White Americans) marched across Orange Avenue into Gainsboro and on toward the Roanoke City Police Department. There was one police checkpoint in Gainsboro but the police allowed us to continue. We included about 100 people or maybe a few more and that included babies, old people and children under the age of three. But we were stopped just before we got to the police department and soon the police began gassing us with what I assume was tear gas. I saw the gas and witnessed the canisters.
When they gassed us the second time, people began running and screaming. Some people said rubber bullets were used as well but I did not see that. My hope and prayer is that next time all of us will stand together: the NAACP, SCLC, Mayor Lee, Roanoke City Council representatives, and many more local ministers. This was a small, peaceful protest. I feel that excessive force was used to make people disperse. Police reportedly told some media reps that they only used pepper spray, but whatever it was created a horrible plume of chemicals. I saw no one doing anything wrong and I was just behind the people in the very front.
This afternoon I also attended the Blacksburg rally in front of the Blacksburg Police Department hosted by “Black Lives Matter”. I spoke with Blacksburg Police Chief, Anthony Wilson to ask if the department was still participating in Dialogue on Race. He said that they certainly were and in fact were having a meeting open to the public hosted by the Blacksburg Police Department tomorrow (6/2) at the department at 1pm. The Dialogue on the Race’s mission is: to create a forum that examines racial issues. It was started by African Americans in the NRV and has been very successful in coming up with solutions and implementing change within the community. Roanoke City police and leadership would be wise to participate in the dialogues.
If we value the memory and life of George Floyd, Dr. Martin Luther King, and so many others who were senselessly slain, we will continue to protest peacefully and begin to participate in local avenues for real, dynamic and system-wide change.
More information about Dialogue on Race may be found at: https://www.dialogueonrace.info/
