By Ryan Quinn, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A crowd that at one point totaled roughly 300 gathered on and around the steps of Charleston City Hall on Sunday, chanting the names of George Floyd and other African Americans before him whom police killed.
“He called for his mother! He called for his mother! He called for his mother, he was a human being, he called for his mother!” shouted Lisa Hunter from the stone steps of City Hall, where the local police are headquartered.
The black Charlestonian’s voice broke with almost every line.
“He was a person, you wouldn’t treat a dog like that,” Hunter said. “But you find it necessary to put your knee on a person’s neck for 9 minutes. What is wrong with our country? What is wrong with us? Everybody is a person, we all bleed red blood. This must stop.”
The crowd gave shouts of “I can’t breathe,” words that were among the last spoken by both Floyd and Eric Garner, who killed in 2014 by a New York City police officer.
Also among Sunday afternoon’s chants were “Black lives matter,” “Say their names,” “No justice, no peace,” “Whose streets? Our streets,” “Prosecute the police” and “Silence is consent.” …
