Akron protesters gather at justice center, eventually disperse around 9 p.m. curfew
Monday’s question of the day seemed to be, “Where is everybody?”
That was the common phrase among the few protesters found in front of the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center in downtown Akron.
The recent killing of Jayland Walker, who was shot 60 times by Akron police on June 27, has sparked days of mostly peaceful but sometimes violent protesting throughout the city.
Akron curfew:Akron declares downtown curfew, cancels all fireworks after 50 arrested during protests
Akron police shooting:Black Elected Officials of Summit County ask Akron not to call in National Guard
At one point Monday, Jillian Smith was the only protester in the area. Smith is the manager at Elizabeth’s Bookshop & Writing Centre in Highland Square, one of the few Black-owned bookstores in Ohio. She said the bookstore’s other employees would be joining her later.
“We specialize in carrying Black writers and marginalized writers ... those books are what we need to be reading right now because those are the books that are teaching white people to unlearn (false narratives).”
Protest at Mayor Dan Horrigan's home
That afternoon it seemed like "everybody" was outside of Mayor Dan Horrigan's home. At least 100 armed and unarmed people were at the protest, and at least two of them were arrested. Protest organizers were making plans to bail them out of jail once the march came to an end.
The protest was organized by The Freedom Black Led Organizing Collaborative (BLOC), a local organization that aims to build Black political power and to equip the Black community with capacity-building tools on civic education, civic engagement, campaign management and leadership development.
At first protesters congregated at the intersection of Tallmadge Avenue and North Howard Street, then made their way down Howard Street to Horrigan's home. They then returned to the Family Dollar Store on Howard Street, where the The Freedom BLOC's executive director, Raymond Greene, gave a speech.
Evening crowd dispersed before curfew
Around 7:30 p.m. Monday, the scene was peaceful as about 75 people were gathered at the Justice Center just 90 minutes before a city-ordered downtown curfew was to go into effect.
"We're tired of being murdered," said MJ Ross, an 18-year-old Akron resident. "We will escalate if our demands are not met."
Those demands, issued by Freedom BLOC on Saturday, include action items such as prosecuting the involved officers and installing dash cameras in every police vehicle. Ross said they are looking for nonviolent ways to increase pressure on the city, but said they will not "lay down and take it."
Police surveilled the scene from a nearby rooftop as other officers inside geared up. Protesters taunted the cops on the roof, telling them to jump and calling them "guilty murderers."
As 9 p.m. drew nearer, protesters were increasingly disgruntled about the impending curfew. One man, who did not give his name, said, "It's the Fourth of July and they're (expletive) all over the First Amendment. How patriotic."
Around 8:15, one organizer gave a final warning to the crowd.
"Anyone who does not feel comfortable getting arrested, this is your chance to leave," he told the crowd. Several others passed out notecards with information for a bail fund and a lawyer.
The crowd began to splinter as about half of them left. Others passed out makeshift shields constructed from a steel barrel lid and cardboard.
"What's one night in jail when we're already in cages?" said 23-year-old Winter Carter. "As a Black woman, I already move through the world with a target on my back."
As the numbers dwindled, more people began to leave.
By 9 p.m., the crowd had totally dispersed.
Despite an empty High Street about 50 officers in riot gear stepped outside the justice center and lined up for several minutes before returning inside at the time of curfew.
One officer made an announcement that any non-media professionals needed to vacate the area or they would be subject to arrest.
Contact Beacon Journal reporter Abbey Marshall at amarshall1@gannett.com and Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com.