Groups gathered in Rosa Parks Circle on Friday during a call to action protest for Daunte Wright. The 20-year-old Black man was killed by Brooklyn Center Police in Minnesota, after police say an officer mistook her handgun for a taser.
Kimberly Potter, the officer in question, resigned from the department following the incident. The Washington County Attorney's Office has charged Potter with second-degree manslaughter. She faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
On the stage there was a vigil for Wright, where community members were encouraged to visit and or leave tributes. Individual activists as well as those representing local groups took to the microphone, sharing messages of unity and action.
"Justice will not come from the will of the oppressors. Justice will come at the will of the oppressed," Jakari Richardson said, as he pushed for more Black community members to get involved in the active fights for justice, "...We want justice for Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, and all of our other brothers and sisters, but we have to get involved and know the importance of being in unity with each other.”
While there was a moment of silence for Wright, activists also recognized the recent death of Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old Adam Toledo, who body cam footage shows was shot and killed by Chicago police in late March during a foot chase in the Little Village neighborhood.
In a poem titled, "Endangered Species," Ebony Davis with Revolutionaries Demanding Justice shed light on the inequities and fear that many BIPOC communities face in everyday life.
"It's peaceful protest and freedom of speech when it's the Ku Klux Klan, but it's a gang of thugs and animals when it's a group of Black men," Davis said, later adding, "...Every time a light flickers and flashes, you have to wonder if the one pulling you over is hiding hatred behind badges," Davis said.
The event concluded with a march around the city's downtown, with leaders yelling "Say his name," to which the crowds responded "Daunte Wright."
