TYLER, Texas — Dozens of people gathered to downtown Tyler Saturday evening to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Their message was clear: They demand to be heard.
The protest and march began at 8 p.m. at the Square. The ethnically diverse crowd held up signs and chanted together as they marched through the streets of Tyler.
Prior to the march, local civil rights leaders spoke to the crowd, thanking them for coming and urging them to take action against violence against blacks across the country.
Afterward, the protesters lined up and marched through downtown. The crowd of nearly 100 people was diverse in race but united in message.
Tyler resident Natasha Ward was among those at the protest, along with her 10-year-old daughter who held a sign reading: "No Justice, No Peace." Ward herself wore a t-shirt with pictures of her sons. The shirt read: "I can't keep calm. I have black sons."
"I have six boys. I don't want to see my sons murders on TV," Ward said. "Enough is enough. We're tired now."
Ward says one of the realities that angers her as a mother is how her sons are viewed by others.
"I have a son that's an honor roll student. He doesn't sag his pants. He's very respectful," Ward said. "When someone else sees him, he's a threat. He's a black boy. He's a gang banger. He's a thug. No, he's not! He wouldn't kill a fly. My son is good, so I'm scared for my kids."
Among the chants heard at the march were "Black Lives Matter" and "I can't breathe!" which was said by Floyd as he was dying. Protesters also chanted "No Justice, No Peace!" though the protests have remained peaceful.
"Today is peaceful," Ward said. "No shooting. No riots. Nothing burning down because everybody came together as one."
The march lasted roughly 90 minutes before many in the crowd left the scene. There were no outbursts of violence in any form during the rally.
In many cities across the country, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest the death of George Floyd, who suffocated to death during an arrest in Minneapolis on May 25.
Some of the protests led to violence that included looting, injuries and one death in Detroit.