Round Rock residents hold nightly protests against racism
- Ariana Garcia
- Jun 3, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 8, 2020
Korina Lurie first began standing at the corner of Red Bud Lane and Forest Creek Drive in Round Rock on Sunday afternoon holding a sign that reads “End Systemic Racism.”
After several hours, she was joined by Marilyn Nzoiwu and her brothers, moved by Lurie’s peaceful protest.
“It’s important that police brutality come to an end and cops need to be held accountable for their actions,” Nzoiwu said. “Murdering black people is just not OK.”
The nightly protest has since continued to grow in numbers. Nearly 100 people joined the protest that began at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Lurie said the message she and protesters want to share is that staying silent is a form of violence.
“The reason why so many black people can be killed and the system stays the same is because people haven’t been speaking out about it like they are now,” she said.
While the protest initially began following the death of George Floyd, Lurie said she wants to call for action in other cases of police brutality, such as Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman who was fatally shot by Louisville, Ky., police officers in her home on March 13.
During Wednesday’s demonstration, protesters knelt for nine minutes in honor of Floyd. They also chanted his name and Taylor’s, as well as “I can’t breathe” and “Black Lives Matter.”
Eunice Elliot, 52, held a sign that read “No Justice. No Peace. Know Justice. Know peace.” Elliott said everyone must come together to make changes for the better.
“I think right now all colors are feeling that enough is enough and we have to do something,” Elliott said. “I’m out here to bring the change I want to see.”
Victoria Carranza brought her three children between the ages of 1 and 7 to the protest. Carranza said she wants to show them how to stand up for those who no longer have a voice.
Carranza said she has not shied away from conversations about Floyd’s death since her children have had questions about why he was killed.
“The best way to answer them is that some people just don’t respect everybody,” she said. “I’m still trying to teach them to be respectful of everybody’s life.”
Though Lurie does not know of any incidents of police brutality in Round Rock, she said injustice could happen anywhere at any time.
She said local reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, but that some who have driven by have flipped off protesters.
On Wednesday, a white man, who declined to give his name, approached the protesters, asking, “Don’t white lives matter, too?” and criticized the looting and damaging of property that has taken place at some protests across the country.
Lurie, along with a few other protesters, talked to the man for nearly an hour to explain their perspective.
After the conversation, the man said he did come to understand their views.
“I see their point and can see why they’re out here if they actually see discrimination and racism, and I’’d be angry just like them,” he said. “I just haven’t seen racism like they said they have and maybe it’s because no one has really violated me.”
In a tweet on May 27, Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks condemned the death of George Floyd. He stated that Derek Chauvin and the three officers present for Floyd’s death should be held responsible.
“We in law enforcement CAN’T look at the George Floyd case and turn a blind eye,” Banks tweeted. “There is NO justification for these actions!”
On Thursday, Mayor Craig Morgan said he is in full agreement with Banks’ statement and said diversity is what makes Round Rock strong.
“We as a city should always find ways to improve and that includes race relations,” Morgan said. “We should always be able to stand and listen and try to understand more.”
While condemning the looting that has happened in other cities, Morgan said the demonstrators in Round Rock have a right to have their voices heard.
“Peaceful protest is not a crime,” he said.
In a June 1 news release, Round Rock school district superintendent Steve Flores encouraged the community to not be idle or silent on the issue. He said Floyd’s words “I can’t breathe” are a “haunting reminder that, in our country, evil hate and a legacy of system racism continue to plague our communities of color and, specifically, African Americans.”
Flores pointed to the district’s formation of an Equity Task Force, launched in 2018, as one of its commitments to addressing racism.
Lurie said that because more people have come out and expressed how they would like the protest to continue, she doesn’t see it ending this week.
“I didn’t think I was going to go out there and start doing this every night,” she said. “We’re not going to stop until it makes sense to stop.”
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