On Wednesday evening, activists and community members gathered in downtown Greensboro to celebrate the recent conviction of Derek Chauvin who killed George Floyd in 2020 and to bring awareness to Marcus Deon Smith, who was killed by Greensboro police in 2018. The event started off in the middle of Elm Street downtown where police cars blocked off the ends of the street so the marchers could dance in the street and celebrate on top of the “Black Lives Matter” mural. Afterwards, the group walked while chanting, “I love being Black!” down towards Church Street where Smith was killed after being hogtied by police in 2018. Recently, a second medical expert found Smith’s death to be a homicide and the activists called for the city to make amends.
“We’ve got to do the same thing for the kids here,” said activist Virginia Holmes.
After a brief moment of silence and an update on the Smith case, the marchers returned to Elm Street, walking back towards the setting sun. — Sayaka Matsuoka [photos by Carolyn de Berry]
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