Over the weekend, thousands of protesters attended peaceful protests in downtown Raleigh in order to pay tribute to George Floyd — an unarmed Black man who died after Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer, kneeled on his neck during an arrest last week. The four officers at the scene were all fired from their jobs, and Chauvin has been criminally charged with third degree murder + manslaughter.
In response to Floyd’s death, protesters in Raleigh have been advocating for changes to police codes of conduct locally and nationally. The demonstrations are organized by a coalition of local groups called Raleigh Demands Justice, which has issued a list of demands including a “redistribution of power” related to racial inequality in law enforcement, more police department transparency + the removal of police chief Cassandra Deck-Brown.
On Saturday and Sunday night between approximately 9 p.m. and midnight, businesses on Fayetteville, Wilmington, and Salisbury streets were vandalized, and in some cases looted + fires were set to sidewalk benches, trash cans, and planters.
Raleigh police responded with a heavy presence, and the National Guard was deployed to sites downtown and at North Hills. Tear gas was used to disperse crowds.
Now, we want to know what questions you have about the protests or paths forward for the city. What do you want to know? What information can we provide? How can we best utilize our platform to facilitate and elevate meaningful dialogue? You can share your thoughts and questions here.
We’d also love to hear your perspective — especially if you’re a Black community member — via our Voices platform, where we turn the mic over to you, our diverse and vibrant community, to share your take on how our community can better facilitate conversations on these important topics.