By Rolf Boone and Leo Brine
The Olympian
About 100 people marched through the streets of Olympia Thursday night, the sixth such protest downtown after the death of George Floyd, a man whose name has become synonymous with racial injustice.
Floyd’s death on May 25 at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer has sparked civil unrest and calls to change policing policies throughout the country.
This week in Olympia demonstrators turned out for a vigil on Saturday, took part in more confrontational protests on Sunday and Monday, followed by a large, peaceful gathering at the Heritage Park fountain on Tuesday. About 50 people marched through downtown Wednesday night and then twice that number on Thursday.
Although Thursday’s protest was largely peaceful, it also was tense.
Some members of the gathering, such as those dressed head-to-toe in black, sniped at some people taking pictures, or became confrontational. A young man with a skateboard, who followed the march to the state Capitol Campus, was later chased from the area for apparently taking pictures. There also was a brief dispute over the U.S. flag on the Capitol Campus, and later, a woman was inadvertently sprayed with a chemical irritant by a protester.
Adding to the tension was a group of men, some of them armed, who trailed the main body of the protest for most of the night.
Olympia police also followed the march as it snaked its way from City Hall to the Capitol Campus and back again, but did not engage with the protesters.
Despite the scattered skirmishes, the protest, at least through 11:30 p.m. Thursday, did not become violent.
Mary Timblin came to protest the injustices that black American’s like herself face on a daily basis.
“I wanted to support the actions that we put into place,” she said. “And to say enough already and to support the black people and denounce what is going on.”
Timblin was happy seeing “all different types of people want(ing) change” in the justice system. “I am impressed with the people that come out. I am appreciative and I think everybody now understands things have got to change.”
She hopes an independent council, unconnected from law enforcement, is erected by Olympia City Council in the wake of protests “to make the decisions about whatever happened, or went down, was right or wrong.”
Chayton Johnson came to the event to protest against police brutality, saying he wants to see “police held accountable,” and that they “receive better training.”
During the gathering, Johnson live-streamed from his phone, saying he didn’t like seeing how protests were being portrayed in the media. “It’s better to have it all live-streamed so there is evidence of things happening,” he said. “I think it’s really important to show the ugly side and the good side.”
Olympia residents Denise Fair and Alex Wilkes, along with their children, decided to join the protest after they drove by and saw it.
“I want my children to see change,” Fair said.
Police need to be held more accountable, Wilkes added.
“If we have to stand up nationwide, then that’s what we have to do,” he said.
Donald Anderson of Lacey participated in Wednesday night’s protest.
After he learned of Floyd’s death, he called it “sickening.”
“For me, as a black man, I was outraged, mad,” he said, adding that he wants to see change and change for his children.
He also called for police reform, saying it’s not enough to just do a background check.
“They need to know who they are hiring,” he said. “They need to know who those officers are affiliated with and the causes they support because they are here for us.”
