“If you’re here to get street cred, go home, get in your car, and I will act as if I never saw you,” Gibbs added.
The “march for justice” made its way on east Pentagon Boulevard before turning south on North Fairfield Road, crossing east at Kemp Road, then flowing back again north on Fairfield before returning to Walmart, at 3360 Pentagon.
At each intersection, Beavercreek police blocked traffic so protesters could march through.
The rally was one of many that have sprang across the nation after the May 25 death of George Floyd, an African American man, in the custody of Minneapolis police.
Starting the event in Walmart gave organizers an opportunity to remind marchers of Crawford III.
The 22-year-old Crawford III, a Fairfield resident, was shot to death in August 2014 by Beavercreek police Officer Sean Williams after a 911 caller told dispatchers a black man was carrying a rifle around the Walmart store.
Crawford was holding a Crosman MK-177 BB/pellet rifle that he found unboxed on a store shelf.
Last month, the city of Beavercreek settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of John Crawford III.
“Say his name,” marchers shouted several times during the protest. “John Crawford.”
“I need you guys to call (Beavercreek police) and say, ‘Why haven’t these guys (police officers) been fired,’” one speaker insisted during the rally
In Dayton’s McIntosh Park later Saturday afternoon, a “protestival” was planned.
Saturday was a day for rallies. In downtown Xenia, four people stood outside the Green County courthouse with signs and flags, showing support for continuing to open businesses and opening Ohio schools as usual in August and September.
Across the state, Ohio and local education leaders are wrestling with when and how to begin the new school year, struggling to reconcile education with continued fears of COVID-19.
For Ohio students, social distancing forced in-school learning to end in mid-March, moving education online, with parents and observers arguing about the results.
“This was supposed to be two to three weeks to slow the spread, to not overwhelm the hospitals,” Beavercreek resident Jen Stephenson said in Xenia. “Why are we still doing this?”
“These kids have suffered enough,” Bruce Hull said.
About the Author
