Boulder Sit-In For George Floyd Death Quiet, Peaceful
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) – There wasn't any violence and very few words at a kneeling protest in Boulder for the death of George Floyd. There wasn't a police officer in sight as dozens of people took one hour to think while taking-a-knee.
"Us, white people, coming to say enough is enough," said event organizer Kate LaCroix. "We hold the institutional power, we put all this in place and we can dismantle it and co-create something better."
LaCroix said she woke up Friday morning, saw national headlines about other protests getting out of hand, and wanted to make a very different statement in Boulder. The peaceful, one-hour kneeling was accompanied by music half-way through. Everyone in the crowd had on facemasks, while some held up signs saying "Black Lives Matter," and others decrying injustice.
"We're going to think about what we have done and what we can do better," she said.
"Things like this are really helpful," said 12-year-old Boulder resident Lidya Rodda.
Lidya attended the event with her mom and a sign she made on Friday that said "Do I scare you?"
"I've seen a lot of this stuff on TikTok and it just really made me feel really bad about everything so I decided to come support any way I can," Rodda said.
"I'm not a violent person so I was drawn to this event. It's a quiet way I can stand in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in the black community specifically," said Emerson Grey, a Minnesota native studying at CU Boulder.
Grey said attending any kind of protest is out of character, but overcame anxiety to attend the event.
"It's not ok with me that people are terrorized by the color of their skin. I'm scared but I'm also so angry and so mad and it doesn't really matter how I feel; it's about being here for everybody in this community," Grey said.