Peaceful protests against police brutality continue, from Far South Side to suburbs

Hundreds of demonstrators marched peacefully through the Far South Side on Sunday to push for changes in federal law to bolster police transparency and accountability in the wake of the officer-involved killing of George Floyd.

Sean Howard, who consults for the south suburban villages of Robbins and Matteson and previously served as a spokesman for the Harvey Police Department, helped organize Sunday’s march alongside Bishop Larry Trotter of Sweet Holy Spirit Church of Chicago and other community leaders. Howard said the purpose of the protest was to advocate for “a new public policy on policing in America.”

“We want to revise the federal statutes covering when police officers can be charged for excessive force and whether they can be sued for such behavior,” Howard said.

The event’s organizers urged those demonstrating to remain peaceful and ignore any detractors along the procession from 111^th Street and Western Avenue to Mount Hope Cemetery 115^th Street and Fairfield Avenue, which was lined with officers and led by a Chicago police SUV and four hearses. Some marchers carried caskets.

Trotter said it was a symbolic display.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

“We cannot stand to go to another funeral and another burial of another black man who was innocent or killed by a crazy white policeman,” Trotter said.

For over a week, activists and everyday residents in the Chicago area and throughout the country have taken to the streets to demand reforms, push leaders to defund local police departments and call for punitive action to be taken against officers facing allegations of misconduct.

A protest last weekend in the Loop, which was organized in response to Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis, set off a wave of destruction and looting after demonstrators clashed with officers.

Howard on Sunday called for a nationwide ban on chokeholds, the creation of a national police misconduct registry, an end to “no-knock” warrants in drug cases and the establishment of lynching as a federal crime.

Before Sunday’s march, comedian Damon Williams offered an update on the condition of his son, who was injured a week early while being arrested at a protest in Hyde Park alongside poet Malcolm London and other activists.

Williams’ son, who shares his name, said he was slammed on his head while being arrested and officers used their knees to press on his neck, similar to the move that led to Floyd’s death. Williams noted his son was hospitalized Saturday night after experiencing symptoms consistent with a concussion.

“We’re talking to the Police Department. You are a department not a force. Let’s take force out of it because excessive force is one of the main issues that we’re out here about,” Williams said. “You shouldn’t get beat down and kicked and stomped in the street if your sticker’s expired on your car or if you missed a red light or you made a wrong turn.

“That’s not a reason to be beaten or taken into custody with force.”

During the protest, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the 9 p.m. citywide curfew she put in place amid the city’s bubbling social unrest had been lifted after the wave of property damage and looting subsided. Meanwhile, the protests against police brutality have continued.

In addition to other peaceful protests across the city Sunday, black and brown speakers took center stage during a march through the affluent, overwhelmingly white northern suburb of Highland Park.

The march through a few blocks of the suburb’s downtown area included a period of silence while taking a knee on Central Avenue in memory of Floyd. The marchers, almost all of whom were white, chanted “black lives matter” as they walked to and from Sunset Woods Park.

Lynn Sweet/Sun-Times

Marlena Jayatilake, the owner of Love That Spice & Tea, a shop located in the suburban city, was among the speakers at the rally in the park.

“I hate using the term white, but I am going to say it,” Jayatilake said. “White people have privilege. Use that privilege.

“Police brutality must end. Silence means consent.”

Jaime Barraza, who grew up in Highland Park and adjacent Highwood, urged white attendees to embrace and understand the movement they’re getting behind.

“Process your white privilege,” Barraza said. “We don’t need safe spaces. We need brave spaces that will foster uncomfortable dialogue, uncomfortable dialogue that will lead to action, that will lead to change.

“Listen, seek to understand, act. We are not going to solve our racial issues overnight.”

In Hegewisch on the Far South Side, protesters gathered at a “celebration of life” rally — hosted by Chicago activist Andrew Holmes — to honor George Floyd and other police brutality victims.

Attendees at the event outside the UAW Local 551 union hall held up flower bouquets and candles in commemoration.

“How can you take a baton and pull somebody out of a car?” Holmes said. “Grab women by the head? Slam them down? Put your knee on a man’s neck until he dies? That isn’t right.”

UAW Local 551 President Chris Pena said the rally’s concept was born out of a desire to start gathering in ways different than simply marching.

Holmes said he believes judicial reform will be necessary to solve problems of racial inequality and police brutality.

“If [judges] can’t stand up in court for us and just throw the book at those who are murdering our black and brown brothers and sisters, then they need to be removed,” he said.

Contributing: Lynn Sweet, Ben Pope

Ben Pope/Sun-Times