Wayne Black Lives Matter Rally Scheduled For Saturday

WAYNE, NJ — Wayne will join the list of American cities both big and small to host a rally in protest of George Floyd's death this weekend.

Scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m., a march will leave from Wayne's municipal lot, 475 Valley Rd., and move down Valley Road beginning at 2:15 p.m. According to the public Facebook event page, part of that road will be closed, and an official route will be posted Saturday.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died on May 25 with a white police officers knee on his neck. A video showing former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck went viral, sparking what is now over a week of nationwide protest.

In addition to the march, the post indicates that there are 14 speakers slated to address the protesters.

The organizers have been explicit in stating that the protest will be a peaceful one, and that behavior contrary to that — violence, hateful rhetoric —is not welcome.

"Ignore any instigators, they just want a reaction," read the post.

The group has been working with the Chief of Police, according to the post, to make the rally and march "as peaceful and safe" as possible.

"Know that officers will be there to ensure crowd control and safety," it read.

On Monday, an independent autopsy revealed Floyd's cause of death to be asphyxia due to sustained forceful pressure. Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, who performed the autopsy, ruled his death a homicide.

The third-degree murder charge against Chauvin was elevated to second-degree murder this week, and the other three officers present at the time of Floyd's death — Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao — have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, according to court records.