A planned series of rallies in cities across the state Tuesday once again put the spotlight on the case of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man who was shot to death by authorities in Elizabeth City. Greensboro was one of those cities. Speakers there say local cases also deserve more transparency.
The rallies in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and six other North Carolina cities were part of a coordinated effort by a group of advocacy organizations.
In Greensboro, it wasn't just about the death of Brown in Elizabeth City. Speakers also say the community needs to know more about what happened to Marcus Smith, who died after being restrained by police in 2018, and Fred Cox, who was shot by a Davidson County deputy outside of a funeral in High Point last year.
MonaLisa Covington says she's hoping people will come away from the rally with a sense of unity.
“This is the best place you can be, in Greensboro, North Carolina, in Elizabeth City, and making a difference in marching,” she says. “We didn't protest, we didn't do anything violent. We just showed, Heavenly Father, that it was just love.”
For weeks, protesters have argued that the unarmed Brown was unjustly killed while sheriff's deputies tried to serve drug-related warrants.
A prosecutor has cleared the Pasquotank deputies, saying that Brown used his vehicle as a weapon.