Hundreds participate in Milford protest
Hundreds of people, black and white, young and old, took part in a peaceful protest against police brutality in downtown Milford June 14.
The protest began at the Riverwalk shopping center parking lot where protesters gathered before beginning a silent march through Centennial Park and Milford’s central business district.
At the end of the march, protesters took a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time George Floyd had Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee on his neck before he died. As the protesters were on one knee, community leaders shouted, “I can’t breathe,” which Floyd said while under Chauvin’s knee.
Following that reflection, protesters moved back to Centennial Park, where protest organizer Jalyn Powell spoke to the crowd.
“We were able to breathe freely, while George struggled for air,” Powell said.
“My brown life is just as valuable as someone who is not of color.
“For far too long, we have been adaptive. To do what society has told us we had to do, or who we had to be. We adapt to how we have to be in front of the police. We adapt to the stereotypes of black and brown people. But today I say we will not adapt to being accepted.”
A native of Milford, Powell had never organized anything like this before, but she said she felt like she had to take action after protests erupted around the country in the wake of Floyd’s death, but none had been in Milford to that point. She said the turnout was beyond anything she expected.
“It is definitely good to see the community come together,” she said. “I’m grateful we had our allies out here, which shows us that it is not just us saying our lives matter, it’s a human thing.”
Powell said she had lots of help from the Milford community in making the event happen, including volunteers passing out water. All in all, the protest lasted about an hour before the crowd dispersed.
This was one of two protests held in Milford over the weekend. On June 13, protesters marched on City Hall demanding justice in the case of Brandon Roberts, a 27-year-old Milford man who was shot in his apartment by Milford police officers in January.
“The message is being heard because changes are being made, but the message is not loud enough because we’re still having rising cases of police brutality against our black and brown friends,” Powell said.
