‘We can love each other’: Fort Mill march for George Floyd killing set for Thursday
A protest march against police brutality and racism, and for community unity and love, is set for Thursday in Fort Mill.
“Fort Mill is a place where we do not tolerate racism; we have not had police brutality, so we are showing our support for love in our town and to protest what happened to Mr. George Floyd in Minnesota,” said march organizer Marquise Morris. “This is peaceful. This is love. This is all of us together demanding that this should not happen in America to people who look like me. Black men. Black people.”
Morris, 22, and a friend, Henry Herrera, quickly organized the event and posted it Tuesday on social media. Both are Nation Ford High School graduates.
“The response has been overwhelming,” Morris said. “We have people of all colors, all groups, who want to be together and stand together.”
The march will start at Walter Elisha Park on S.C. 160 in Fort Mill at noon. Walkers will head to downtown Fort Mill, then back along S.C. 160 to the Kingsley business and residential development that sits just east of Interstate 77.
Morris chose the route so marchers could stay on the sidewalks and not impede traffic. The goal is for a peaceful, but noticeable, protest, Morris said.
Morris said he saw how Rock Hill’s protest march Saturday drew more than 1,000 people and was peaceful. He saw how it brought different races and ages of people together. Another unity rally in Chester Monday drew hundreds of people.
“We want people to see us, we want the public to be a part of this,” Morris said. “We can be one. We can show love for each other. We can do that at the same time that we stand against what is wrong in America.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 5:35 PM.
