Thousands line Tri-Cities streets for Black Lives Matter demonstrations
Hundreds of Tri-Citians lined the sidewalks from Highway 395 to beyond 20th Avenue in Pasco to speak with one voice.
People of all races and ages waved signs with the names of the victims of nationwide police violence.
“I think we’ve been the epitome of a peaceful movement. ... I think you see blacks, whites, Hispanics, young, old here for one common cause,” Marlando Sparks, a member of Jaime and The Justice League, said Saturday.
He said the group’s goal is to create a platform and a voice to talk to people in power, from police to elected officials, and create an avenue for citizens to be more involved in government and to vote.
The peaceful Court Street crowd was greeted with honking horns from passing cars and even a friendly, supportive wail of a Pasco police car siren as an officer drove by.
Saturday’s “Pasco Protest for George Floyd,” organized by Irene Mendoza and Jaime and The Justice League, was the fourth Black Lives Matter demonstration in the Tri-Cities since Friday.
Tri-Cities Justice for George Floyd and Amber Rodriguez organized a huge rally along Clearwater Avenue on Saturday afternoon, handing out about 1,000 face masks to the crowd.
More than 2,000 people lined the Kennewick thoroughfare to chant and wave signs.
Rodriguez called it “a historic moment.”
“The community did an amazing job. It has boosted the moral in Tri-Cities. It also is exposing some of the systemic oppression that goes on here,” she told the Herald.
Antha Hansen, another organizer, said it was one of the largest protests she’s ever seen in the Tri-Cities. The crowd included people from across the political spectrum and all ages.
“I never expected to see this much positivity from drivers driving by,” she said. “We’re building a lot of solidarity and inroads from groups that we never thought would come out in support. We were very much surprised by the turnout of folks in Second Amendment rights groups coming out.”
She said they are hoping they can take this energy and channel it into a dialogue about race throughout the community.
Other events were held last weekend following the death of Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day. His death has sparked protests worldwide.
Kennewick native Afra Mayfield, who now lives in Portland, came to Pasco on Saturday to join the Court Street demonstration.
She said it’s important to make sure the message from the protests continues to spread to churches and schools to educate people about racial inequality. It’s not just about a single event, she said.
Her husband Ryan Mayfield, and their 11-year-old son also came to the rally. Shortly after noon, everyone laid down on the sidewalk for eight minutes in recognition for how long the officer knelt on Floyd’s neck.
After that Ryan Mayfield took his son aside to explain what happened and to take the sadness he felt and turn it into positive action.
“This is just the beginning,” Afra Mayfield said. “It has to stop.”
Leo Perales, a local leader with Consejo Latino, said he believes the video of Floyd’s death is what’s bringing together so many people of all races to focus on the problem.
In the Tri-Cities, in particular, he said there’s been a longtime tie between the black and Latino communities because both were forced to settle in Pasco because of laws that once prevented them from living in Richland.
Felix Vargas of Consejo Latino and Perales said they feel there’s more acceptance now about race problems in the country than there was when Antonio Zambrano-Montes was shot while throwing rocks during a confrontation with Pasco police five years ago.
Vargas praised Pasco police for significant improvements in their relations with the Latino community in recent years.
“Pasco has a template. We have a model that works for us,” he told the Herald.
Downtown Pasco
About 30 people stood in downtown Pasco on Friday night, defending their community without weapons.
“Our purpose with this event is to show that we can be united,” said organizer Adrianna Hickson. “We don’t need guns to protect our businesses.”
The move was in response to another group, Defend the Tri, that formed after some Kennewick stores were vandalized last Saturday night.
Hickson believes using guns to defend businesses creates more violence.
While the rumors of rioters coming continues to persist, meeting them with guns would escalate the situation rather than diffuse it, she said.
“We want to do unity in our community, secure our small businesses together as a community. We have people from every background here, every race and we all have to be together.”
The protester linked arms and called for an end to police brutality. Though some like Eugene Vigil and Mykaleh Burton were hoping that local police would do more to show their support.
“I thought it was really cool that police brought food today, but they need to say Black Lives Matter,” Vigil said.
Before the rally started Friday, Pasco arrested a 19-year-old who pulled out a gun to stop two men fighting who had knifes.
Richland rally
Earlier on Friday in Richland, some 300 protesters lined George Washington Way to wave signs at drivers against racial inequity.
One man was arrested at the Richland rally after he pulled out a gun during a confrontation with others in the crowd.
Richland police arrested Brandon Reid Bourne, 32, for intimidation.
This story was originally published June 6, 2020 at 1:58 PM.