A group of about 50 protesters in downtown Norfolk Tuesday night swelled to more than 100 as the peaceful march against the death of George Floyd wound from city streets to an impromptu walk on Interstate 264.
By the end of the night, the group gathered beneath the city’s towering Confederate statue on Main Street, where they chanted against police brutality and demanded that all four Minneapolis police officers be charged in Floyd’s death. At about 11:30 p.m., the group dispersed and went home, without any clashes with police officers who had streets blocked off nearby.
“I have to keep us moving forward,” said 24-year-old Jackie Horton, a recent Norfolk State University grad who has her eyes set on going to law school. “If we stop or let up, they won’t hear us anymore.”
Horton, wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt and face mask, said she sent out a text on Monday about gathering for a protest without any posts on social media or the internet. She was at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront protest the night before where tear gas was deployed and damage done to businesses.
Leading the crowd with a megaphone from popular Granby Street to Virginia Beach Boulevard, Horton urged protesters that this was a peaceful gathering where no looting would be taking place. The group listened.
They walked by people standing out on the sidewalk by their homes, signs held high and voices loud as police trailed in cruisers. Other cop cars had intersections blocked off to traffic.
“My goal is to change the world,” Horton said to a reporter under the statue as she and others led the group in chants.
The protest started at 7:57 p.m. and, for a brief period, ended up on Interstate 264. Horton said that was not part of the plan but police had roads blocked off so they had nowhere else to turn.
They ended up back on city streets. At times, the group took breaks as people handed out bottles of water and bags of chips. They took knees to chant “no justice, no peace,” their words bouncing off city buildings.
Down Granby Street, the group was met mostly with support by men and women out at restaurants or dining on sidewalks.
Horton’s friend, Kira Crite, 23, said it’s important the protest was led by a younger group, pointing out that most in the crowd were in their 20s and 30s.
“Everyone’s a leader and we showed that,” Crite said. “We can make a change by leading.”
Gordon Rago, 757-446-2602, gordon.rago@pilotonline.com
