Protesters spent Thursday afternoon and evening marching between the Tarrant County Courthouse and Fort Worth City Hall as city councilmembers and Mayor Betsy Price voted to end the 8 p.m. curfew that had been in place since Monday.
By 7 p.m., a crowd of a few hundred gathered outside City Hall to listen to speakers from the community. Fort Worthian Jason Williams described his life as a biracial black man to the protesters.
“When Obama got elected,” he said, “I thought to myself, ‘God damn, I wish my father was alive to see this. I wish his father was alive to see this.’ I didn’t know that there were racists in the country who were pissed off that there was a black person in the White House. I thank you, Mr. Trump, for being elected because now I see you [racist] motherfuckers. I see every one of you on Facebook, Instagram. Now, I see your face, and I’m not scared of any of you.”
Speaking in City Hall, protest organizer LUCID SHINOBI addressed Mayor Price and Fort Worth city councilmembers.
“I’m here for the people,” he said in his opening remarks. “If you cannot give us a promise that you will make an effort in these terms, then we will do as we please. We can work together as a community because we live here. Your police department has classified me as a riot leader. That is not me. We are not here to take anything from you. I want to know the solutions for my people. We still have not met any solution. Sir, ma’am, do you promise to give us a solution? If not, we will find a solution on our own.”
Outside, a large crowd turned toward the county courthouse yelling, “No justice, no peace!” and “George Floyd.” Shouts of “Blue lives murder” alternated with “Black lives matter.”
Standing on the steps of the Tarrant County Courthouse, one event organizer asked for Officer Ellis, who, according to protesters, refused to march with them.
“All we ask is for one officer to walk with us!” the organizer shouted.
Fort Worth police officer Yancey, the black officer who expressed a desire to march alongside protesters two days before (“Largest Yet Tuesday Protest Ends Peacefully,” June 3) fulfilled the request. Yancey, along with two non-black police officers, parked his bike ahead of the protesters as they marched south on Main Street. The gesture, which at first appeared to be a roadblock, was soon met with cheers.
In front of City Hall, a member of protest organizer United My Justice stated the group’s plans.
“Good evening,” he said. “We in for the long haul. The best thing we can do is strike at them economically. They think we are going to get tired, but we’re not. Every block we hit, it hits their business. If we want to hit the Stockyards, we hit the Stockyards. The more we pressure, the more positive change. We fixing to put the pen to the pad [with regards to city policy changes]. What we can do is to begin to make it hard for them to make money down here. Let’s bring it back up tomorrow and the next day after that. Y’all be safe.”
