Juneteenth protests for peace Saturday

(ALBANY, GA) – As part of an effort to increase awareness of the importance of Juneteenth weekend, Albany citizens took to the streets Saturday morning to protest for change.

Protestors marched downtown to the Veteran’s Park Amphitheater where they took a knee in silence for eight minutes and forty-six seconds.

Those in attendance heard how severe it was from the older sister of Ahmaud Arbery, Jasmine.

She told the protestors about the days that followed the February incident, “…I couldn’t be happy because I knew I’d lost my younger brother. They took something that was really important away from me, and that really hurts…”

SOWEGA Rising Co-Chairman, Sherelle Byrd said to those in attendance, “When we say Black Lives Matter, we aren’t saying that all lives don’t matter. We’re not trying to take anything away from anybody. We’re trying to say is ‘Do you care about black people? Do you hear us? Do you see us when we’re lying in the streets, bleeding?'”

There was also a vigil held Friday night for those who have recently been killed through racial injustice.