Peaceful Marchers Seek Justice In Winston-Salem Streets

Chants for justice echoed across Winston-Salem's downtown blocks Wednesday as marchers vowed to turn George Floyd's death into action.

“Get up, get down, ‘cause the revolution's in this town,” they said in unison as they circled the block that holds the county jail.

“Whose streets? Our streets!” went another refrain.

And also “I can't breathe,” words that Floyd spoke on a Minneapolis street while a police officer held him with a knee to his throat. Protester Ralph Fisher took it a step further, wearing a mask with “I can't breathe” printed on it.

The march drew hundreds. There have been demonstrations in the city every night since Sunday. As with Tuesday's protest, marchers made their way through downtown streets to US 52. But unlike Tuesday, these marchers didn't shut the highway down.

They also passed the intersection of Fourth and Liberty, where a Confederate monument stood for more than 100 years until the city removed it last year.

Tony Ndege was one of the organizers of the march. He says the anger at Floyd's death and economic factors are ushering in a new era of racial and generational solidarity.

“A lot of what is happening is happening because we're not being heard, and the reason we're not being heard is because we're not organized together in a way that we need to be,” he says.

Nine-year-old Emma Oaks led several chants outside of the Forsyth County courthouse, including a call-and-response, "Show us what democracy looks like: This is what democracy looks like!" 

The march featured a nine-minute “die-in” where the protesters lay face down on the street. That's about the same amount of time that a Minneapolis police officer held a knee to Floyd's neck before he died.

Some of the nationwide protests have sparked clashes between police and protesters as well as damage to property. So far, all of the Winston-Salem marches have been peaceful.