Protesters in New Orleans, upset over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, took to Canal Street for a loud and raucous, though peaceful protest which progressed up Canal Street, through Claiborne, over to Tulane Avenue and then Broad Street before filling the plaza at Police Headquarter.
The crowd at times was lead in a number of chants, including “F*** the police, death to pigs” and other epithets, the crowd maintained its peaceful atmosphere the entire time.
Others involved with the march included the Freedom Workers Socialists.
The group provided people who spoke at length about how police are the arms of capitalists and have held down black people since the end of the Civil War.
Others called for police reforms and the end of violence by police.
Another praised the Consent Decree with the Federal Government that the New Orleans Police Department operates under.
The crowd was evenly split between whites and blacks. One white man said he was gathering “in solidarity with my friends and community of color.”
He talked about the peaceful nature of the protest: “I think the fact that today is the first day of protest and there has been a lot of organization around the protest.”
With the second day of protests underway across New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, in protest of the shooting death of Modesto Reyes, the region has escaped the violence, looting and destruction many Northeastern cities, including Washington D.C. have experienced over the past few days.
