SAINT PETERSBURG, Fla. — In St. Pete, protests against racial injustice continued Wednesday night as demonstrators marched through downtown to city hall in the wake of George Floyd’s death. The focus of the protests expanding beyond police brutality to encouraging more action to fight systemic racism.
“We know that this will come to an end. But we’ve got to have the organizational structure that can keep us focused on tearing down the policies and practices that create the systemic racism,” said Maria Scruggs, president of the NAACP in St. Petersburg.
Scruggs said in addition to discrimination in law enforcement, the pervasive racism in other American institutions must also be attacked.
“What impacts education, impacts economic development, what impacts healthcare, what impacts transportation. The bottom line is the quality of life for people of color becomes totally dismantled because we experience all of these areas of racism,” she said.
The protests have already sparked some systemic change.
Across the nation, some departments have already banned chokeholds, others have changed policies and cities have called for complete reform.
There are also more conversations occurring around symbolism in society. Cities are removing Confederate monuments and on Wednesday, NASCAR banned the confederate flag at events. For years the country has been divided over Confederate monuments and flags. Some see them as a symbol of history, while others see them as one of hate.
"Those are nice gestures [to remove the monuments], but at the end of the day, that won't change the policies and the practices, because folks will go right back to business as usual,” Scruggs said. “That's the piece of this that has to change this time, and I think we've had it. I think this is it.”
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