Coverage by Gabriel Ossa, Ricky Sweeting, Judith Y. Kim and Hagen McMenemy
Ever since May 29, when someone broke a window of the CNN Center building, Georgia has seen pockets of #BlackLivesMatter protests all throughout the state, though most have been concentrated in the capitol of Atlanta.
Almost immediately, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms implemented a 9 p.m. curfew and, with the help of Governor Brian Kemp, deployed the National Guard.
Given our stance within the larger issue at hand, we’ve been hitting the streets every day to capture the movement at its highest. From May 30 to June 8 (when Governor Kemp pulled the National Guard), we captured the protests progression, as well as the sentiment of the people.
On June 4, Mayor Bottoms announced that the 9 p.m. curfew was being changed to 8 p.m., although businesses would still be allowed to operate past this hour. The basic message was clear: Stay off the streets.
After Day 8 went by without any arrests, Mayor Bottoms decides to lift the curfew on Saturday, June 6.
During the day, there were many peaceful protests throughout the city, one of which was organized by health care workers. Nurses, administrative staff, med students and doctors alike gathered nearby Grady Memorial to march to Centennial Olympic Park.
By the second Monday night, the city had grown quiet. The National Guard was heading out, and the once-crowded streets stared blankly back into the night. Around 9:50 p.m., it began to rain heavily, washing out any debris left behind.
In light of the recent shooting and death of Rayshard Brooks this past Saturday, as well as another Black man in Newnan yesterday, however, we don’t see Atlanta resting any time soon.
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Mayor Bottoms’s Inaction At Heart of BLM Protesters Concerns in Atlanta • Avant-Youth · June 27, 2020 at 11:49 pm
[…] and violence have seemingly been stemmed, but the frustrations remain, if not grown. The protests continue and saw renewed vigor when police killed Rayshard Brooks at the Wendy’s on University […]