Protests in Little Rock unfolded peacefully Friday -- the seventh day of demonstrations since last weekend -- as students and educators marched to a mural on Seventh Street depicting George Floyd.
Later, a crowd of close to 100 people rallied again at the Capitol well into the evening.
Mayor Frank Scott pushed back the Little Rock curfew from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, but the crowd at the Capitol had all dispersed about 30 minutes before the curfew began when scattered thunderstorms neared.
Protesters passed a megaphone around to address the crowd and to speak about racism, policing, their experiences at the recent protests in the city and the death of Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police on May 25 and whose death has sparked demonstrations across the country.
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Kipp Brown, 50, told the crowd that while watching the video of Floyd's death, in which Floyd struggles to breathe with a white officer's knee pressing on his neck, he and everyone else was waiting for one thing.
"Mercy," Brown said. "Mercy never came for Floyd."
Friday afternoon, Gov. Asa Hutchinson acknowledged that there were "lessons learned" regarding the police response to the first demonstrations earlier this week, saying that authorities could have improved communication with organizers. Hutchinson made the comments after he met with protest organizers and community leaders from around the state at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock.
Last Saturday night and on Sunday and Monday, police used tear gas to disperse crowds at the Capitol. On Tuesday, there were 79 arrests in Little Rock, but tear gas was not used that day. On Wednesday and Thursday, protests were peaceful; most protesters intentionally left the Capitol before the 8 p.m. curfew, and the number of participants seemed to decrease.
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When asked about the use of tear gas during the initial protests in Little Rock, Hutchinson said better communication with protesters could have helped authorities and demonstrators better manage during the first few nights of demonstrations.
"So, probably some lessons learned there ... but I took responsibility for it," Hutchinson added. He suggested that he had directed the response to "protect property."
The issue of tear gas was discussed in his meeting with organizers, he said.
"They feel very strongly that that was a bad decision," Hutchinson said of protesters.
Although he acknowledged that activists expressed their anger, frustration and disappointment in some areas during their meeting, Hutchinson said he and the organizers agreed on the definition of a peaceful protest when the activists questioned him on it. And the governor said they shared "a common adversary" of people committing acts of violence or destroying property.
"These protest leaders don't like that. They oppose it. They want them arrested, and I have the same view on it," Hutchinson said.
Additionally, the organizers' other concerns included the criminal-justice system, police training and accountability, the Republican governor said. Hutchinson did not name the specific individuals he met with but said they were protest organizers from Little Rock, Conway, Hot Springs, Fort Smith and Van Buren. He noted that they were "young people."
"This is not the older generation of protesters," he said. "These are new protesters, with new passion."
The governor said his session with the organizers was scheduled to last an hour, but ran for an hour and 45 minutes.
"They also asked to meet again, and so I expect that to be scheduled in the future," he said.
Activists leaving the meeting declined to speak to reporters.
CALMER CAPITAL CITY
After pushing back the weekend curfew, Scott said he intended to lift it completely Monday.
At a Friday afternoon news conference, the Little Rock mayor said he respected the work of peaceful protesters and stood in solidarity with them, adding that he had met with some organizers.
"We want to continue to acknowledge and affirm what they are doing. They really are galvanizing and creating positive change," he said. "We do ask for continued cooperation from peaceful protesters and that we remain peaceful throughout this process."
Police Chief Keith Humphrey said there are more demonstrations planned throughout the weekend, and he hopes to stay in contact with organizers to ensure the protests remain peaceful.
"People want to make sure that Little Rock does not make national news in a negative way," he said at Friday's briefing.
The number of arrests made during and after evening rallies dwindled as the week progressed.
Humphrey said none of the arrests made over the past two nights were for property damage. He said the charges included obstruction of governmental operations, which is related to breaking curfew, as well as public intoxication. There was also at least one arrest related to a warrant discovered during a traffic stop.
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said three people were arrested Thursday night. He did not have an address for one of them but said the other two were from Little Rock.
Humphrey said Friday that the Police Department still believes there are outside instigators present at Little Rock's protests.
Sadler said Thursday that five people were arrested at Wednesday night's protest, all of whom were charged with obstructing governmental operations. A total of 79 people were arrested Tuesday night.
A combined force of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies has been monitoring the protests since Tuesday under an emergency proclamation from Hutchinson.
The crowd Friday evening listened to Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come," played from a portable speaker when there was no one addressing the crowd.
Three drones hovered over the Capitol grounds, with the one lowest to the ground making a loud, distracting buzzing noise. It wasn't clear whether the drones were part of a law enforcement agency's efforts to monitor the protest or whether they belonged to a news organization gathering footage.
Like on previous nights, at least one soldier in a National Guard uniform could be seen standing on the top floor of the Winthrop Rockefeller building across the street from the Capitol.
Carrying a handgun on his waist, Gregory Bernard spoke to the crowd about the Second Amendment and encouraged those in attendance to register to vote.
Bernard, who is black, said he was concerned about the police restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners by bullying those who have firearms, and he recounted his experience with police infringing on his right to bear arms.
"It does not matter whether the weapon was loaded or not," Bernard said. "It does not matter if you have a concealed-carry license. It's basic law. It's your constitutional right."
MARCH FOR STUDENTS
Earlier in the afternoon, hundreds of people gathered at the Capitol to march for education and listen to students speak about their experiences as black young people in Arkansas.
The march was organized by educators Wendell Scales Jr. and Johnny Laine who said the march was a call to action for teachers, parents, students, counselors, social workers and youth advocates.
"It's your duty to fight the social and racial injustices in our education system," Scales said. "Our dreams matter, our lives matter, our education matters. We are scholars, we are pillars in the community, we are perfect the way we are. Our city needs more than ever right now. It's time to respond."
The crowd gathered behind the Capitol and marched to the mural of Floyd on Seventh Street.
"From a basic level I am hoping this event will start a conversation," Laine said in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "We want this to trickle down to our schools where we are focusing on social injustice in our schools. Our leaders of tomorrow are the ones we are teaching today. The victims of tomorrow are the ones we are teaching today."
The entire march was a peaceful event with participants chanting about justice while passersby cheered from their vehicles. Police blocked off parts of the street and monitored traffic as people walked to the mural.
Daylon Land, a graduate of Bryant High School, spoke about his experience of being educated in a mostly white school system.
"It's OK for our black teachers to pull them aside at a young age and tell them you are a queen or you are a king. Speak life into them," he said. "If you don't speak life into them before they get into high school, then they will feel like a nobody."
Chants of "black students matter," rang out in front of the mural as march participants put around 200 flowers in front of the depiction of Floyd.
The mural was painted by Jose Hernandez and Jermaine Gibson who have created artwork for years on Seventh Street. The artists said several national news organizations have contacted them, and they are going to use this platform to promote the positives of Little Rock.
"Just the recognition this one has gotten has people to look into Little Rock history," he said. "I want people to know that we got culture here in Little Rock. There is a big art culture here. That Little Rock is cool."
Information for this article was contributed by William Sanders of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 06/06/2020