Two local Black Lives Matter groups held separate rallies on Saturday in the wake of a Louisville, KY grand jury’s decision not to charge police officers for the shooting death of Breonna Taylor in March.
The group Toledo Together held a ‘Justice for Breonna Taylor’ rally in west Toledo on Saturday evening.
A few dozen protesters stood on the corner of Secor and Dorr St. with signs and chanting ‘Hands up, don’t shoot,” and ‘What’s her name, Breonna Taylor,” at the cars passing by.
After a long summer of large protests around the country sparked most prominently by the death of George Floyd in May after a Minneapolis Police Officer was shown on video holding his knee on the back of Floyd's neck for over 8 minutes, marchers say the need for protesting is still there.
“I think it needs to keep going regardless, because there’s injustices all over, in our system, in our education, housing, school, so it definitely needs to keep going on,” said Mariah Coleman, organizer with Toledo Together.
The protest was co-organized by the University of Toledo chapter of the NAACP and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
The group also registered voters.
After the protest, a group led by local activist and Toledo City Council nominee Julian Mack, gathered at Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz’ home to demand the mayor’s support for the Community Solidarity Response Network’s Refund Toledo petition.
The petition calls on the City of Toledo to redirect funding from policing to programs and services for Toledo communities.
The petition also calls on the city to increase transparency and police accountability on issues surrounding police misconduct by creating a civilian review board.
The Monroe Area Youth Alliance also held a Justice for Breonna Taylor rally in Monroe on Saturday near the statue of George Armstrong Custer in downtown Monroe.