Community Corner
HdG Protests Racism With Multiple Demonstrations
Protesters in Havre de Grace took a stand against racism.
HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — Multiple protests were held in Havre de Grace over the weekend as communities nationwide took a stand against racial injustices. The demonstrations came nearly two weeks after the death of George Floyd, 46, who died in police custody in Minneapolis.
Peaceful protesters came together outside the Swan Creek Village Center midday Sunday calling for change in Havre de Grace.
The event was from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday off US 40 where Bill Bateman's Bistro used to be.
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Floyd died on Memorial Day when a Minneapolis police officer held him down with a knee on his neck. A video of the encounter showed Floyd saying he was struggling to breathe.
Find out what's happening in Havre de Gracefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Not a single police officer that I have spoken to believes that is appropriate," Havre de Grace Police Chief Teresa Walter said at a protest Saturday. "Not a single one."
Four officers have been fired and charged in connection with Floyd's death.
The police chief in Havre de Grace said she was in attendance at Saturday's demonstration outside City Hall and the police station on Pennington Avenue because officers wanted to protect demonstrators as they exercised their First Amendment right, but she added there was more behind their presence.
"We do want to hear what you have to say," Walter said. "There is no place, absolutely no place for discrimination, bigotry, brutality and definitely not racism — no place in our country, no place in our state," Walter said.
"We can chant, but it's all hollow if we do nothing," she said. People had to come to "some type of consensus" about how to effect change, she continued.
As an alternative to in-person gatherings, a car caravan called the Ride for Equal Justice drove by police headquarters throughout Harford County Saturday. The ride began in Havre de Grace, went through Aberdeen and Bel Air and concluded at Rockfield Park.
It was "part of a weeklong acknowledgment by our society and our community of what a serious problem we have," Together We Will - Harford County/Upper Chesapeake shared in a live stream on Facebook.
Did you go to the protests? Tell us in the comments!
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