MEDINA, Ohio — Peaceful protests and marches continued Sunday in Medina.
“When a cop has his knee on a black man’s neck is not the only time we’re not able to breathe. Some of our schools in the summer lack air conditioning. Our neighborhoods are piled together, we live on top of each other and they label them the project or the hood,” said Malik Tuck, one of the organizers leading the march for a more inclusive Medina and United States.
What You Need To Know
- Protesters advocated against police brutality and oppression
- Protesters marched and chanted through downtown Medina and in neighborhoods nearby demanding change
- The event wasn’t just a chance to march for change, but also to talk and educate one another
- Medina’s police chief said there have been several demonstrations recently and all have been peaceful
“While we may not be violent in our actions, we must be vicious in our approach. While we may not have all the right answers, we have seen the wrong ones through the course of history. The wrong answer of my vote doesn’t matter, ‘I’m not good enough.’ The wrong answer of ‘I’m not smart enough,” Tuck told the crowd.
The event wasn’t just a chance to march for change, but also a chance to talk and educate one another.
“And I just want to say that I’m sorry that I have not stopped and tried more to change things, and that this is not what I fought for, but I will fight to help you and I will stand with you,” an emotional navy veteran Stephanie Mattern told the crowd.
She’s continuing to fight for the country and the people who live here.
“We have a privilege, and I want to use it the right way. I always took it for granted. I never know, I never knew what it was like to be any different than I am, and it makes me sad. Everyone’s a human being and should be treated like that.”
And those conversations on community improvement, are ones Medina’s Police Chief Ed Kenny is willing to have.
“We’ve been discussing things with a crowd, having conversations with the crowd, just talking about overall changes nationally as well as local,” said Kenny. “It’s critical. It’s critical to share ideas and see what’s on people’s minds.”
A sign of unity—pushing for a community to change for the better.
