'It's so hard:' after the verdict, people express anger, sadness
Updated: 10:15 p.m. | Posted: 6:21 p.m.
Protesters chanted their way up and down Hennepin Avenue Saturday night, escorted by Minneapolis police. They sat down several times on the busy street and briefly blocked traffic and light rail trains.
Daphne Brown, 45, from New Hope said as a black woman, she had lots of reasons for being there.
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"I'm against police brutality," she said. "That's why I'm here. I'm against injustice. That's why I'm here. I worry for my friends, my family, my neighbors, my classmates. I worry! That's why I'm here."
It was the second day of protests since a jury found Officer Jeronimo Yanez not guilty on all charges in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile during a traffic stop last July.
Mick Sharpe, 41, from Minneapolis joined the marchers on his Harley, bringing up the rear most of the night. He said he wants to see some accountability when police kill citizens.
"Too many good men are dying for no reason," said Sharpe. "We see black men as problems, not people. That needs to change."
The group first gathered in Loring Park as part of a rally billed as a "Solidarity March Against Police Violence and White Silence" organized by Minneapolis mayoral candidate Nekima Levy-Pounds.
On Friday, the State Patrol arrested 18 people following a late night protest on I-94. Two of those arrested were journalists-- City Pages staff writer Susan Du and U of M student journalist David Clarey.
But earlier in the day on Saturday, it was calm and relatively quiet in the Twin Cities, even though at events and gatherings around the metro, the trial's outcome was difficult for people to ignore.
At Northpoint Health and Wellness Center in north Minneapolis, grief counselors were available for anyone who stopped by.
Resmaa Menakem, a social worker, said as people deal with the verdict, it could trigger historical trauma.
"With regard to this black man Philando that image is something that is burned into the bodies of black people for 400 years, so when this stuff happens it rekindles some of that same stuff," said Menakem.
In St. Paul, an annual Juneteenth Festival was filled with barbecue and tents. Some attendees said they still felt stunned by the verdict. James Stewart had expected at least one conviction. He believes history played a role.
"I feel like one of the reasons they can't deal with the killing of a black man has to do with our relationship with the constitution, like at one point being property," said Stewart. "And is it manslaughter if the person is not a man?"
Across town at a peace summit held in New Salem Baptist Church in North Minneapolis, the scheduled topic was how to stop violence. But when longtime civil rights activist Ben Chavis spoke, he tailored his already planned address.
"I'm here to say we cannot allow a tragedy to break our spirit," he said. "There's justifiable anger and justifiable outrage. But we need to challenge our anger and our outrage into a constructive strategy that's not only going to bring us together as a people as a community — with allies of course — to address specific agenda items where we can make change."
And at a community-wide discussion in St. Paul, one of several planned for the coming days, artist and activist Maria Isa spoke. She was friends with Castile.
"We live in a world that tells us to dream but every time we dream it's a nightmare," said Isa. "It's hard, it's so hard. I'm angry. I'm sad. I'm hurt because it's repetitive and it happened at home."
On Sunday, another rally is planned in St. Anthony to honor Castile, this one focused on Father's Day. And on Monday night, a third St. Paul community meeting is planned at the Wellstone Center.
