Organizers Charles Banks and Myles Britton and others addressed the crowd, after which around 3,000 protesters, per a Keller Police Department estimate, marched from Bear Creek Park to Keller Town Center.
They marched not only in support of Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, but also for police reform, racial equality and Black Lives Matter.
“This is the Keller community,” Britton told a diverse crowd of demonstrators. “It’s not just white people. It’s not just black people. It’s not just Asian people. It’s not just Hispanic people. It’s all of us.”
For Banks, the idea to organize a protest began with the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was fatally shot while jogging through a South Georgia neighborhood in February. The arrests of Arbery's alleged killers did not come until after a video of the incident went viral in May. Banks said he was shaken by the incident.
“I shouldn’t feel scared to just run in my neighborhood,” he said. “The reason I am here today is to start that change. I don’t want anyone’s kids to be afraid.”
According to the Keller Police Department, the event lasted nearly three hours and took place without incident. Police helped facilitate the demonstration by halting traffic on Rufe Snow Drive and guiding protesters through Keller Town Center.
From the start, the demonstration was designed to be a peaceful protest, Britton said. Organizers spoke with officials from Keller PD prior to the event and had the full support of the department, he said.
“That’s what we’re here for—to stop that fear right now,” Banks said.
