Marchers Show Up Despite The Rain
Tropical storm doesn't stop three marches across the city, one with only cars.
Frank Nitty leads a march on June 9th in Wauwatosa. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
A tropical storm wasn’t enough to stop people from marching, or driving, on Tuesday for equality and justice in Milwaukee.
Three different events took place Tuesday as the storm brought high winds and intermittent heavy rain to the city. It was the twelfth consecutive day of protest marches following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
Frank Nitty was out front of a Black Lives Matter march in Wauwatosa that circled the western portion of the city, including marching by Mayfair Mall. Urban Milwaukee caught up with the group as it came south down N. Mayfair Rd. and headed west on W. Watertown Plank Rd.
The Wauwatosa Police Department blocked off the intersections in front of and behind the approximately 100 marchers, while the protesters repeatedly chanted the names Alvin Cole, Jay Anderson and Antonio Gonzales. All three individuals were killed by Wauwatosa police officer Joseph Mensah in separate incidents. Mensah has been with the police department since 2015.
Meanwhile a car caravan led by Nitty’s organizing partner Khalil Coleman made its way from Lincoln Park through much of the city and a few north shore suburbs. Urban Milwaukee watched the caravan, a couple blocks long, go south on N. Downer Ave. and west onto E. Bradford Ave. State Representative David Bowen drove along with the march and said that if justice wasn’t served he would be looking into how people could upgrade their car horns so they could be heard.
A third march, organized by Jeremiah Thomas and Tommy Franecki, started at Humboldt Park and went northwest towards the Milwaukee Police Department‘s District Two Station at 245 W. Lincoln Ave. Urban Milwaukee was present for the start of the march just before 4:00 p.m. and reporter Ethan Duran tweeted that it dispersed shortly before 7:00 p.m. A couple dozen people attended.
A variety of events are again planned for Wednesday, even with inclement weather predicted. Thomas and Franecki’s group, “The People’s Movement of Milwaukee,” will leave from Humboldt Park at 5 p.m. Coleman and Nitty’s group, “All Power to the People,” will meet at Washington Park at 3 p.m. for the second-consecutive day of a car-only “march.”
Look for a future article on the evolving relationship between the two groups.
Photos
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- The Year of the National Guard - Jenny Peek - Dec 28th, 2020
- Baldwin Questions U.S. Marshall’s Role in Tosa Protests - Isiah Holmes - Dec 19th, 2020
- Op Ed: Vote No on COPS Grant - Markasa Tucker - Dec 18th, 2020
- People’s Revolution Marks 200 Days of Protest - Graham Kilmer - Dec 15th, 2020
- Supervisor Clancy Applauds Activists on 200th Day of Protests - Sup. Ryan Clancy - Dec 14th, 2020
- The “Molotov Cocktail” That Wasn’t - Jeramey Jannene - Oct 23rd, 2020
- City Hall: Police Chief, Alderman Fight Over Use of Canines - Jeramey Jannene - Oct 23rd, 2020
- Will BLM Movement Sway State Voters? - Bridgit Bowden - Oct 20th, 2020
- City Hall: Community Groups Propose Changes - Jeramey Jannene - Oct 19th, 2020
Read more about 2020 Racial Justice Protests here
More about the Case of Officer Joseph Mensah
- 50 Plaintiffs Sue Wauwatosa - Hannah Haynes - Mar 7th, 2021
- ACLU Calls for National Search for Tosa Police Chief - Isiah Holmes - Feb 23rd, 2021
- Waukesha Faith Group Questions Mensah Hiring - Isiah Holmes - Feb 18th, 2021
- Rep. Bowen Statement on One-Year Anniversary of the Killing of Alvin Cole - State Rep. David Bowen - Feb 2nd, 2021
- About Those Phones Taken By Tosa Police - Isiah Holmes - Feb 1st, 2021
- ACLU Blasts Waukesha Sheriff on Mensah Hiring - Isiah Holmes - Jan 27th, 2021
- Mensah Now a Waukesha Sheriff’s Deputy - Jeramey Jannene - Jan 26th, 2021
- Statement from the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office on Joseph Mensah Hiring - Waukesha County Sheriff's Office - Jan 26th, 2021
- Wauwatosa Police Created ‘Protester List’ - Isiah Holmes - Jan 20th, 2021
- Op Ed: How We’ve Handled the Tosa Protests - Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride - Dec 5th, 2020
Read more about Case of Officer Joseph Mensah here
A march without feet on the ground is not a march. A march with only cars is not a march. I encourage those who march on their feet to continue doing so. I wish the horn honking drivers would stay “safer at home.”