WATCH: 50-70 carry out peaceful protest Sunday

Members of the community gather at Hill Wheatley Plaza for a peaceful protest on Sunday after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked violent protests nationwide. - Photo by Grace Brown of The Sentinel-Record
Members of the community gather at Hill Wheatley Plaza for a peaceful protest on Sunday after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked violent protests nationwide. - Photo by Grace Brown of The Sentinel-Record

From 50-70 people gathered in downtown Hot Springs on Sunday to protest police brutality against black people in other areas of the country, a peaceful demonstration that lasted from early morning until after dark.

Protests were held nationwide over the weekend, fueled by the deaths of black people in police custody, most recently by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after being pinned under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer. Some of the demonstrations have been marked by violence and destruction of property.

"I have two young black sons. I have a husband as well," said one of the Hot Springs protesters, Brittney Howard. Their lives matter to me even if they don't matter to anyone else. That's why I'm here."

"This is enough. All too often, you hear about black men being shot down by the police or choked out by the police, now they're attacking the women and the kids. I am a father, I am a son, I am a brother, I am just like the next nationality," said Qasim Luqman, another protester.

A crowd gathered at Hill Wheatley Plaza Sunday morning with signs in hand to stand in solidarity with protesters across the nation, while others expressed their own frustrations with current events. Some stayed throughout much of the afternoon and into the evening.

Many protesters told The Sentinel-Record that their issues were not on a local level.

"I want to be clear, man, I love our local police. I love our police officers. ... I watched on national TV a policeman murder a man and three policemen stand by and watch him do it and not even stop him or render aid to that man," said Zeke Ezekiel.

"There is no reason for it. There's no reason for us to allow them to do that to another American citizen without a call for justice."

"Everybody wants to do something. Yesterday, a lady made this sign and was here by herself. Some friends told me and saw it and other people saw it and they wanted to do something," said Angie Ezekiel.

At one point, one protester said around 70 people were lining both sides of Central Avenue with homemade signs. A group also marched down Bathhouse Row.

Hot Springs police Cpl. Joey Williams said he heard an estimated 50 people attended the demonstrations.

"We had no problems ... we support peaceful assembly and have no issues with someone exercising their First Amendment rights," Williams said.

"I'm here to take a stand against police brutality. I'm here to show my 15-year-old it's OK to be black in America. I'm here for all my people. White people, black people, Asian people, all the people in the world. All this violence is going to have to stop. No one is above the law," Tina Meadows said.

The protesters kept to the sidewalks, clear of traffic, which was an issue with a protest in Little Rock Saturday night. Numerous cars passing slowed to honk their horns and raise their fists out of the windows in support.

"You have a lack of leadership in this country that something has to fill the void. We have a tremendous lack of leadership now with just the presidency but at many other levels as well. Where are our congressmen? What do they have to say? I haven't heard anything from them. ... I think our congressman should be standing right next to me. I think our mayor should be here with us, city council even," said Dr. Randy Hill.

"Most people in this country are Christian people who care about other people. They ought to show it. They ought to do what Jesus tells them to do, rather than sit behind a keyboard and spout off racist stuff."

Members of the community gather at Hill Wheatley Plaza for a peaceful protest on Sunday after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked violent protests nationwide. - Photo by Grace Brown of The Sentinel-Record
Members of the community gather at Hill Wheatley Plaza for a peaceful protest on Sunday after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked violent protests nationwide. - Photo by Grace Brown of The Sentinel-Record

Among the protesters was 5-year-old Elijah Villasenor. Although keeping the attention of a 5-year-old can prove difficult, he stood beside his parents for the better part of the protest, holding a sign bigger than he was reading, "Mama, I can't breathe."

"I think it's important to show our children to stand up for themselves from a young age. We're Mexican American so we need to show him what's right and what's wrong and how to stand up for himself," said his mother, Sara Duran.

"We're from California originally, but we've been here for about 14 years. What you see on TV, we experienced that in California. I've been taken out of my car at gunpoint with a knee in my back for no reason at all. So I know what African Americans and Hispanics and immigrants are going through," said Daniel Villasenor.

"Living here in Hot Springs, I mean, I personally don't experience that but I see what's going around in our country. We gotta stay united, regardless of race," he said.

While none of the local protesters acted out in violence, a pair of instigators did approach the crowd. They began yelling, "All lives matter! Stop the riots!" repeatedly. None of the protesters responded and the instigators went on their way, continuing to scream at the protesters as they walked up Spring Street.

Two men who said they represented "The Highwaymen" were also present. One of the men was armed with two pistols and wore a bulletproof vest. Both said they support the protest, but they did not want to see any looting take place.

"I'd like to point out that 99% of us are nonviolent. I mean, you're not going to see any looters down here. You're not going to see any of that stuff. We're not thugs, we're people who care about people," Hill said.

"The local businesses are our bread and butter. This is where we live. It didn't happen here but that's the reason we are here, to show we stand with those in the cities that it has happened," Zeke Ezekiel said.

"I feel that a person of color should be the one to organize something, This is a show of solidarity. This is not our voice that needs to be heard. We just need to be the ones to step forward and say, 'Hey, we're with you,'" Angie Ezekiel said.

"I would certainly like to see something more organized happen and I would participate. I would love to. But that's not for us, (as white people) to organize."

Local on 06/01/2020

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