Protesters Take A “Peace Walk” From Snider Plaza To Burleson Park
A group of peaceful demonstrators marched in what was dubbed a “peace walk” from Snider Plaza to Burleson Park Saturday morning.
The demonstrators took a route eastbound on Milton, south on Airline toward the park. The walk marked the second such protest in the Park Cities or Preston Hollow area since the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis touched off demonstrations nationwide.
University Park assistant police chief Jim Savage said before the walk that organizers were expecting between 10 and 20 people, but organizer Naomi Silva said the crowd far exceeded that.
Silva said the idea for a walk came about in a WhatsApp feed for Indian Americans in the Park Cities.
“We felt that, in our community, it was really important to let people know how we feel because I think the first part is showing people that we actually think the same way that they do and we have the courage to come out and do it,” she said. “The University Park Police Department worked really well with us. They helped us get it approved in a day.
“Hopefully, we’ll stand on the right side of history, continuing with our actions to show our solidarity with our black community as well as that we recognize that we are going to have to help to fix the problem.”
She added that she was pleased with the response.
“We put out the word (Friday)…and I think it just goes to show how the Indian American community, the Asian community, the Jewish community…that all these communities, they’re all very well connected with each other and once we put out the word, that we can all show up for each other,” Silva said.
At one point, while they marched, someone standing outside a house along the route called out “all lives matter!” and one of the marchers responded with, “that’s not helpful!”
When the marchers reached the park, they knelt for around eight minutes, representing the amount of time officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck, according to a New York Times article.
At one point while the demonstrators were kneeling, a black man standing and carrying a sign that read
“1,452 African American babies die daily through abortion. Stop the madness” began singing. He ended by saying, “all lives matter. Black babies’ lives matter.”
At that point, a person or two in the crowd called out, “take a knee!” and the gathering ended with a call-and-response of “say his name!” and “George Floyd!”
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