Though thousands peacefully protest the death of George Floyd, some demonstrations have turned violent, which may sabotage the civil rights message.
Calvetta Williams, founder of Mothers Against Violence in Des Moines, Iowa, is all about peaceful protest. She organized a march through the city Saturday that began and ended without a hint of violence.
On the one hand, violence sabotages a message of social justice and may prove counterproductive. On the other, fury over Floyd's death is understandable – and it could be effective in changing public consciousness. Williams said she does not condone such conduct, but she recognizes violence is a statement of community anger about police brutality. Story continues"I think it enhances the message" of demonstrations, she said."How many times do we have to say our lives matter? … A building can be put back up. George Floyd, he can't be put back home."
Dean said the event was a statement of unity against injustice – a manifesto that"police brutality can no longer be tolerated in our city." Long noted that Martin Luther King Jr. saw violence as"a cry of the oppressed" but denounced it, in part because he believed, like Mahatma Gandhi, that a peaceful goal requires peaceful means.
"Reforms have been implemented ... in response to rebellion, in response to unrest, in response to disruption," he said. By the late 1960s, Wasow said, militant black activists had given up on peaceful demonstrations. Protests in Los Angeles and other cities became more violent and were perceived as riots rather than civil rights efforts. The result, Wasow said, was a shift in public concern about crime and security, which was reflected in subsequent elections.
Hill was arrested and expelled from Southern University in Louisiana in 1972 for helping lead a campus protest over inadequate services and funding. Police shot and killed two students. For others, she said, the “objective has remained squarely focused on the need for police reform, justice and accountability.”Barbie Zelizer, a professor with the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication and director of the Center for Media at Risk, said news outlets struggle to cover demonstrations evenhandedly.
Activists said law enforcement should investigate reports that outside agitators are triggering violence at otherwise peaceful demonstrations.
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