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 night, the protest was a memorial intended to mirror Floyd’s funeral service in his hometown of Houston earlier in the day.
The peaceful march, full of signs with anti-police violence messages, began around 8 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Park.
The group marched down San Fernando Street, turned at Third Street and stopped at City Hall, where organizers rallied the crowd with chants including “black lives matter” and “no justice, no peace.”
More from San Jose City Hall. #GeorgeFloyd @mercnews pic.twitter.com/K5eY6sAeJQ
— Jason Green (@Jason_T_Green) June 10, 2020
Protesters have demonstrated nationwide after Floyd’s killing, including a Tuesday afternoon protest in Berkeley organized by high school students.
Monte Clark, 23, of San Diego, arrived at the San Jose memorial at Plaza de Cesar Chavez 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.”
Police were not visible during the march or at City Hall.
