18 photos show how small cities and towns are protesting for the Black Lives Matter movement
Matthew Wilson  Â
- In the wake of George Floyd's death, protesters have taken to the streets in small cities and towns across the country.
- In Wausau, Wisconsin, almost a thousand people showed up for the largest demonstration in the city in nearly a century.
- In Coral Springs, Florida, two teenagers formed a protest to promote change in their community.
In the wake of George Floyd's death, protesters have taken to the streets across the country. While protests in major cities including Minneapolis, New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles have captured the national spotlight, hundreds of protests continue throughout the country in America's smaller cities and towns.
Whether there are thousands, hundreds, or dozens of them, these protesters want their voices and messages to be heard. Here is a look at the smaller cities and towns that are protesting in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Pictured on June 5, a crowd of a hundred people marched through downtown Olympia, Washington ...
It was the sixth consecutive night of demonstrations in Olympia. According to The Olympian, protests were largely peaceful. The police followed the protesters as they moved from city hall to the town's Capital Campus and back again, but they kept their distance.
... and protested at the steps of the state's capitol building.
The building is a popular site for demonstrations and protests.
The small town of Clarkston, Michigan, had a peaceful protest on June 7.
According to the The Clarkston News, hundreds gathered in the streets to protest racism and police violence. Clarkston has a population of around 924 people.
"The town's old-fashioned views have to change, and they must get used to things like these," Alex Martinez, the 20-year-old organizer, told the Clarkston News.
"I thought the protest went great," Martinez told The Clarkston News. "A lot of the community really showed up today, people of all ages and colors. It was as peaceful as it could have been. We didn't antagonize anybody, nor we were bothered by anybody, other than a few middle fingers from cars passing by. And I think it was for the better."
In Tinley Park, Illinois, around 150 people protested downtown on June 2.
According to Patch, this was the first protest in the city and was said to be peaceful. The protest ended after an hour of marching and chanting.
On June 6, people formed the largest political demonstration in Wausau, Wisconsin, in nearly a century.
The city has a population of around 39,000. According to NewsChannel 7, officials on the scene estimated that more than a thousand people turned out to show their support for Black Lives Matter. Wausau police were on the scene and were seen handing out water to the protesters.
According to NewsChannel 7, the demonstration was the largest in the city in nearly a century. (In 1933, around 2,500 people took part in a parade to celebrate Franklin D. Roosevelt's National Recovery Administration, according to the news channel.)
The protesters marched through the downtown area to city hall.
Speakers addressed the crowd, and 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence were observed, the same amount of time former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on the neck of George Floyd, according to the criminal complaint against him.
On June 7, protesters gathered in the Market Common in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
According to Myrtle Beach Online, nearly 500 people gathered, led by a local group called The Peaceful Protest. Protesters carried signs and chanted "Black Lives Matter" and "No justice, no peace."
Leading the procession was the city's mayor, police chief, and city manager. Police stopped traffic so protesters could cross streets.
Also on June 7, protesters marched to raise awareness in Glen Rock, New Jersey ...
Around 600 people marched through the borough, heading to the borough's municipal building. The event was organized by the newly formed Glen Rock for Black Lives Matter.
... and knelt at the borough's municipal building.
According to Patch, the protesters knelt or sat in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
At the end of May, Wilmington, Delaware, was the site of protests and riots.
According to Delaware Online, protests started peacefully, with people shouting for justice as they walked more than 6 miles through the city, and at one point, they briefly shutdown I-95. As night came, according to local reports, the demonstrations turned violent, with people smashing the windows of the city's Market Street businesses.
On June 3, people gathered in downtown Huntsville, Alabama, to protest.
According to AL.com, the police used rubber bullets, tear gas, flash bangs, and pepper spray to dispel a non-violent crowd when they refused to vacate the city's Madison County Courthouse square.
The police said such measures were used to prevent looting and rioting, but no property damage was reported at the time, according to AL.com. A city council person plans to ask for a resolution to review police conduct during the protests, WAAY-TV reported.
On June 2, two students organized a protest in Coral Springs, Florida.
The protest was organized by Mahek Manjiani and Shayan Shivji, teenage cousins of Pakistani descent who felt their community needed to speak up on the issue.
"Take a stand. This is my home. I wanted a change to be implemented, here. Our voices should be heard in Coral Springs, and that's truly what were doing today," Manjiani told Local 10.
Some police officers joined protesters in a demonstration on June 7 in Hollywood, Florida.
According to WSVN, police officers were seen among the protesters marching through the streets.
"We're peaceful. Everyone here is peaceful. No one here condones looting. No one here condones violence at all," a protester told the news outlet. "We're not here for that. We're here for police reform, and police brutality needs to stop."
Over 1,000 people took to the streets in Bend, Oregon, to protest on June 6.
According to KTVZ, this was one of several marches in the city in recent days. The protest was called the "Bend Walk for Justice" where protesters marched to the county courthouse and knelt in silence.
Protesters carried signs with messages that included "Defund Police" and "White Silence Kills" as they chanted "Black Lives Matter."
Hundreds descended on city hall in Kirkland, Washington, on June 6.
The protesters were chanting "Black Lives Matter" and "Say their names." Outside city hall, they sat or knelt to honor Floyd. As the names of people who died in encounters with police were read aloud, the crowd began to raise their fists, according to reports.
Protests in Albany, New York, drew hundreds of people at the end of May.
According to WNYT, a peaceful protest was held in Townsend Park in Albany, but things turned violent that night when people threw bricks at police, who responded with tear gas. A truck was also set on fire.
Another peaceful protest took place on June 3. According to News 10, protesters dropped to their knees at several intersections throughout the city, in protest of Floyd's death.
In Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, hundreds gathered for a morning demonstration on June 7.
According to North Jersey.com, protesters marched carrying a large banner reading "Black Lives Matter" as well as signs with messages like "Say their names," "I can't breathe," and "Abolish the police." Protesters marched to the village administration office where they got on one knee and shouted "no justice, no peace" as well as the names of Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
- Read more:
- A world on fire: Here are all the major protests happening around the globe right now
- Thousands across the UK, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Canada, and more condemn racism and demand justice at global Black Lives Matter protests
- NY police commissioner says he's 'extremely proud' of department as videos surface showing officers using excessive force and plowing cars into protesters
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