Protest Planned For Keansburg Tuesday, Old Bridge Later This Week

KEANSBURG, NJ — A group called Black Men United, who are organizing what have been mostly peaceful protests across the state of New Jersey, were planning to hold a protest in Middletown on Tuesday, June 2.

But that has been canceled, Patch was told, and instead there will be a gathering in Keansburg at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Protesters marching for justice for George Floyd say they will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday on the baywalk across from La Playa Mexican restaurant. There will also be a protest at Lombardi Field in Old Bridge at 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 4; that one is organized by a group of local African-American high school students.

“As a town, we’ve been too quiet for too long," said Emanuella Ntim, an organizer of the Old Bridge protest and a graduating senior at Old Bridge High School. "We claim to be diverse, but are quiet when injustice occurs. This town has a significant population of African Americans, yet we are silent in their time of need. No more. All across the country, our brothers and sisters are dying for no reason. We need to make our voices heard."

Similar protests are being planned for this week in Carteret, Union, Hoboken, Perth Amboy, North Bergen and West Orange, among other locations, and there was a large protest Monday in Jersey City in which the town's mayor, Steve Fulop, even participated in. All the New Jersey protests have been peaceful so far, with the exception of looting in Trenton and Atlantic City, which the AC mayor criticized.

The officer, Derek Chauvin, seen kneeling on Floyd's neck for eight minutes has been fired from his job and charged with murder and manslaughter. An independent autopsy paid for by Floyd's family, just released Monday afternoon, found that Floyd died of asphyxiation; it ruled his death a homicide, CNN reported.

A prior autopsy, done by the state of Minnesota, said the effects of being restrained, any potential intoxicants in Floyd's system (toxicology tests take weeks), and possible underlying health issues such as heart disease, led to his death. It ruled out asphyxiation.

• Tuesday, June 2 – Jersey City (vigil, 6 p.m.), Middletown (noon) canceled it's now Keansburg Baywalk at 6 p.m.
• Thursday, June 4 – Carteret (2 p.m.) meeting at Carteret Middle School. Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman is calling for the protest to remain peaceful.
• Friday, June 5 – Union (1 p.m.), Hoboken (1 p.m.), Newark (unconfirmed), Perth Amboy (2 p.m.)
• Saturday, June 6 – North Bergen (3 p.m.), West Orange (12:30 p.m.), Jersey City (4 p.m.)

• OLD BRIDGE, NJ
  JUNE 4TH AT 1PM PEACEFUL PROTEST W SOCIAL DISTANCING pic.twitter.com/8fBiRhNzBx
  — Parthaneya // RIP Yousef BLM (@iconicxangelo) June 1, 2020