Hundreds of people dressed in black marched mostly in silence through downtown Minneapolis on Saturday night to call for racial justice and an end to police killings of Black Americans.
The march was one of two held Saturday in Minneapolis on the July 4th holiday.
The Black 4th march began at U.S. Bank Stadium and proceeded peacefully around downtown Minneapolis. Some participants knelt occasionally to honor Black victims of police.
The march took the throng down Washington Avenue, and they were expected to cross the Stone Arch Bridge and end up at St. Anthony Main, where they planned an event with food, music and a homegrown fireworks show. As darkness fell, many in the group held sparklers and urged solemn silence in the streets.
Troy Mortenson of St. Paul said he marches for his 9-year-old son. "I can't imagine having him go through something like George Floyd went through," said Mortenson, who is Black. "I'm scared for his future."
Mortenson says he first got involved with social justice causes after the death of his close friend, Philando Castile. "To see him get shot in front of his child, that was it for me," he said, describing the fatal traffic stop whose aftermath was livestreamed on Facebook.
The 10K Foundation, the Justice Squad and Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence organized the march. A sculpture honoring George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day, and Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police in Louisville, Ky., was to be unveiled.
Earlier, at Roll 4 Justice, about 200 people on roller skates, roller blades, bicycles or on foot proceeded from Minneapolis City Hall to a rally at Bde Maka Ska.
They passed through several downtown and Uptown neighborhoods as they called for abolishment of the criminal justice system in favor of investment in social and mental health services.
"The people who live around Bde Maka Ska, they don't know what we've been through or understand what this movement and revolution is about," said Mari Mansfield of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee.
The event was organized by MIRAC, CAIR-Minnesota, LatinoAltROCK, Asamblea de Derechos Civiles and Native Lives Matter.
Lukas Skrove biked from his Golden Valley home for his third protest since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd in police custody. Skrove said he had to educate himself before he felt he could participate.
"I identify myself as a white person who has a long way to go ... cleaning up the mess white people need to clean up," Skrove said.
Jewel Spearman, 19, of north Minneapolis, has protested police treatment of Blacks several times before and after Floyd's death. "Not all people are free right now," she said of the significance of the protest's July 4th timing.
Also Saturday, the Northside Riders 4 Justice, a group of Black gun owners, rallied at the State Capitol in St. Paul against gun violence but for the right to keep and bear arms.
liz.sawyer@startribune.com
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July 05, 2020 at 10:11AM
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Minneapolis July 4th protesters say they're marching for justice for all - Minneapolis Star Tribune
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