SAN JOSE — For nearly two weeks now, protesters have gathered in San Jose each evening to demand justice and reform after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
Tuesday, the demonstration started with a memorial at Plaza De Cesar Chavez intended to mirror Floyd’s funeral service in his hometown of Houston earlier in the day.
“Today is the day that George Floyd is finally being laid to rest,” said 21-year-old Deshawn Ogelesby, one of the organizers of the event. “Yes, we are out here protesting as we always do. But we are also out here celebrating his life.”.
Ogelesby, who recently moved to San Jose from Camden, New Jersey, estimated roughly 500 people attended.
Around 8 p.m., the memorial morphed into a peaceful march, full of signs with anti-police violence messages.
The group marched east on San Fernando Street, turned north at Third Street and stopped at City Hall, where organizers rallied the crowd with chants including “peace starts with me.”
More from San Jose City Hall. #GeorgeFloyd @mercnews pic.twitter.com/K5eY6sAeJQ
— Jason Green (@Jason_T_Green) June 10, 2020
Similar demonstrations have taken place nationwide since Floyd’s killing on May 25, including a Tuesday afternoon protest in Berkeley organized by high school students.
Monte Clark, 23, of San Diego, arrived at the San Jose event about 4 p.m. and watched the crowd balloon.
“The crowd grew, energy grew,” said Clark, who is attending San Jose State University in the fall.
Asked why he attended the memorial, Clark said, “We need to start making justice a verb. We have to start telling them what we want. They can hear us now. We need justice. We need reform. We need change — a revolution in the criminal justice system.”
San Jose resident Brian Knockin was also there to document the event with his camera.
“I want to put it out there that these people are peaceful,” Knockin said in an interview outside City Hall. “I want to put it out there that we just want equality. We want our kids to have education. We want our kids to have clean water. And we want our kids to come home at night.”
“I need to come home to my mom every night,” he continued. “My mom told me to stop protesting. I told my mom if I die out protesting, I was meant to go helping my people.”
Police were not visible during the march or at City Hall.