Several peaceful demonstrations took place in Winston-Salem over the weekend. On Saturday: a Forsyth County Association of Educators rally at the Hall of Justice; a BlackoutNC flashlight vigil on the steps of City Hall; and a Hope Dealers Outreach march from the courthouse to Winston Square that drew more than 1,500 people.
At a smaller gathering organized by high school students in the city's Bailey Park downtown, organizer Elia Kollock shared her original spoken word performance with the roughly 50 protesters in attendance. The graduating senior at Mount Tabor, currently enrolled at Forsyth Tech Middle College, says she thinks it's time for the younger generation to get involved.
“I'm very excited that a lot of people are here,” says Kollock. “They feel the same way I feel that we should be speaking out and we should all come together and demand justice. Your voice matters, and if you use yours, we could be the generation to change everything that's going on right now.”
High school sophomore Trinity Norris says black people have been silenced for too long.
“I want the people to feel where I'm coming from not only because it's me, because I'm black,” says Norris. “I want them to be put in my shoes. They'll never have to go through that conversation with their parents that they have to be conscious of going outside and being their own skin color. We shouldn't have to have these talks with our children. We shouldn't have to worry about our brothers and sisters going out and not coming home.”
Protests continued on Sunday with more than 1,000 gathering in Greensboro's LeBauer Park, and in Winston-Salem, a drive against racism took place, with each car decorated with signs calling for justice.