CHARLOTTE, N.C. Protests turned violent for a second night in Charlotte after Tuesday’s fatal police shooting of a black man. Late Wednesday, Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency for the city and deployed the National Guard and State Highway Patrol troopers to assist local police.
Alex Gray of Charlotte said he was “not really big on chanting. But just to be here to support … I mean, there are a lot of people who have lost their lives for this reason or that reason. It’s just disheartening. It would be nice to see some change, obviously it’s not going to be anything that happens overnight, but it has to start somewhere. … If you’re not an actor, you’re a factor, so I’d rather be part of the movement than not.”
Master Allah of Charlotte said, “If you read (my sign), it says if we were really free, we wouldn’t be dealing with this. What it means is, in the history of America, we have never been seen as free. We wasn’t brought to this country to be equal, and now we’re at a point to where we’re being destroyed.
“I think with the power of media – Facebook, Twitter, all the social media – now it’s something that’s being seen on the daily. It can’t be denied. We gotta talk about it because we’ve got a real problem.”
Earlier Wednesday afternoon, pockets of the city were on edge, with some uptown businesses apparently sending workers home early over uncertainty about further protests. The Charlotte Chamber also urged businesses in uptown and University City to “remove or chain down all tables, chairs, signs or planters.”
At the afternoon silent protest at the Bank of America Tower, Andrew Monroe said the gathering was organized informally by a group of black professionals. “What we want to do is show we’re not dangerous,” he said. “We want to show the world it’s not thugs out here.”
Monroe said black people deserve to be safe in the streets and don’t feel the way in the spate of recent police shootings.
Across town at UNCC, students gathered at the Union and laid down in protest.
Source: The News & Observer
