Kansas City Protests Police Brutality

PHOTO | Maggie McKinney

Three protesters hold an American flag being used as a protest sign and raise fists during the Black Lives Matter demonstration at the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain on May 30. A raised fist is a symbol commonly used to represent solidarity among oppressed peoples.

“I went to the protest in order to speak up against the injustice that has been building up in this country through the killing of George Floyd, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others,” Miller said. “Black men, women and children shouldn’t be killed, racially profiled or discriminated against solely because of the color of their skin.”

The protesters were accompanied by a heavy police presence to the dismay of many activists, according to Jones. Many felt that the protest that mainly focused on de-escalating police presence in communities and stopping police brutality had too many officers in charge of keeping the peace and too harsh of peace-keeping tactics. The police used chemical weapons such as mace and tear gas as they saw fit in order to maintain order within the crowd. 

“What didn’t surprise me was the aggression the protest faced by cops,” Jones said. “That didn’t surprise me because our police system is militarized without proper community oversight.”

However, some saw the humanity in the protesters and in the police. In some instances throughout the weekend, police officers and activists could be seen working together to de-escalate tense situations and sharing a common goal of ending police brutality, according to Miller. 

“I watched as a black officer collapsed when he stepped away from the crowd in exhaustion. I watched as a woman expressed her anger and grief to an officer with tears streaming down her face,” Miller said. “What I found was peace, grief, happiness, solidarity, anger, empathy and unity.” 

For many young people, these protests were an opportunity to get involved in activism that directly impacted their community. Because of the protests accessibility and the widespread national reaction to Floyd’s death, young people felt emboldened to speak out against injustice on social media, sign petitions and attend the demonstrations, according to sophomore Lauren Ellwanger.

“Although I wasn’t able to attend the protests themselves, seeing how many teenagers and people my age showed up to make a difference was so inspiring,” Ellwanger said. “The solidarity shown across social media and the support I saw for the protesters across all platforms made me hopeful that we can fight for a better future and make an impact on the world.”