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Two groups of protesters march through Downtown Memphis Wednesday night

The eighth consecutive night of protests in Memphis saw at least three separate peaceful demonstrations Wednesday, including two in Downtown Memphis in the evening and a third in the Broad Avenue arts district earlier in the day.

Activist LJ Abraham led a group from the National Civil Rights Museum to the Shelby County Jail while pastor and activist DeVante Hill held a press conference with city officials at the I Am A Man monument before leading another group through downtown to Tom Lee Park. 

Recap:For 6 days, Memphis protests have remained mostly peaceful

Tuesday protests:On seventh night of protests, demonstrations pop up across Memphis

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner, Memphis Police Director Mike Rallings, activist Frank Gottie and Hill stood outside Clayborn Temple to announce the result of an hours-long discussion about policing in the city that had taken place earlier in the day.

Hill said the discussion produced some early commitments, including the possibility of more power for Memphis' Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board and additional officer training for MPD and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.

Strickland said the killing of George Floyd by a now-former Minneapolis police officer "was not the start of this problem, but I want him to be the start of the solution.”

“As mayor, I am absolutely committed to fixing that problem of how the police deal with black people," he said. 

The mayor also committed to a weekly meeting for the next month with activist groups. Hill said he and Gottie were committed to holding the city accountable as those discussions proceed and that Wednesday's group photos didn't mean that everything had been solved. 

'We just want to be heard'

As she led her group toward the jail, Abraham said they shouldn’t sing in front of churches — they should be marching in front of places of business that discriminate.

Protesters walk north on Main Street in Memphis, Tenn., during the eighth straight day of protests on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in reaction to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after being pinned down by a white Minneapolis police officer on Memorial Day.

“We just want to be heard, my brothers in blue,” Abraham said as the group passed black MPD officers. “Y’all know why we’re out here.”

An officer gave Abraham a thumbs up in response. 

Aman Devji, owner of the Downtown Express store in Downtown, carries his son as they marched with protesters through Memphis, Tenn., during the eighth straight day of protests on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, in reaction to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after being pinned down by a white Minneapolis police officer on Memorial Day.  Earlier in the march, Devji welcomed protesters in to get free drinks.

Down the street from the jail — where the crowd chanted "let them out" — Aman Devji, the owner of Downtown Express, which was damaged during a protest over the weekend, invited protesters into the store, telling them to take any snack or drink they wanted. If the entire store had been looted, he’d still support the protest, he said.

"I wouldn't be here if they (black people) did not sacrifice in the past," said Devji, who is an immigrant from Pakistan. "Because of them, I'm here."

As for the damage to his store the other evening, "it's alright," Devji said. "Peace is not easy."

Later, he took his six year old son, Qahir, to join the protest, where his 16-year-old daughter was already marching.

As the march went on, a few protesters at the rear attempted to block MPD cruisers driving behind protesters as they walked past AutoZone Park. 

Police officers exited the cars and told the marchers they had to clear the street or they would be arrested. 

The march led by Abraham concluded at the National Civil Rights Museum around 8:30 p.m., but a group of Black Israelites, who arrived across the street, upset several in the protest by saying that people of different races shouldn't be together.

Activist Darin Abston, Jr. suggested one more march around the block, a march that resulted in a brief but intense altercation with police after protesters surrounded the front of a police vehicle, with Abston saying the white officer inside had "tried to kill" him twice. 

Eventually the group broke up around 9 p.m., an hour before curfew. 

Memphis is depending on you

Around 7:30 p.m., Hill led his group of several hundred marchers away from Clayborn Temple to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Reflection Park where he asked a black mother and a white mother from the crowd to "pour out their hearts."

The black mother shared instances of racism her children faced at school, including threats of violence and racial slurs being hurled at them or written on their desks.

The white mother said she had watched previous protests against police brutality from home and hadn't participated because of concerns for safety but realized she was speaking from a position of white privilege. That realization motivated her to join the march Wednesday night, she said. 

Hill later led marchers onto the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and down into Tom Lee Park.

“There is a sound that comes from your voice that forces change in every zip code of this city. Nights like tonight, Memphis is depending on you,” he told the protesters.

That gathering also broke up around 9, with Hill saying his next march would be Saturday and he wanted so many people to show up "that it's hard to manage."

March down Broad Avenue 

Wednesday's protests kicked off around 4 with about 50 people marching along Sam Cooper Boulevard and into the Broad Avenue arts district. 

The group at times occupied one of the lanes on Sam Cooper as they carried signs and chanted the names of black men and women killed by law enforcement officers and vigilantes in recent months.

Jordan Dodson said she organized the protest on Broad Avenue because it was an area that had experienced recent gentrification. 

"There are buildings here that people that live a mile over can't even enjoy. They can't even go and buy anything, they can't even go and buy food because it costs so much money for them," she said.

Dodson said she thought only two businesses on the strip were working for the betterment of the city, including City and State, a coffee shop and boutique that promotes black entrepreneurs.

She said she hoped the demonstration would elevate conversations about how black children are treated by law enforcement officers.

A week of protests 

Largely peaceful protests across Memphis have drawn hundreds since last Wednesday when a group of protesters gathered along Union Avenue for a silent, socially-distanced protest. Verbal confrontations began after two counter-protesters arrived and the original group eventually shut down Union Avenue for at least an hour. 

Several hundred people attended a peaceful march downtown Saturday evening, which was followed several hours later by a verbal altercation on Beale Street between a small group of protesters — many of whom did not attend the earlier event — and police on horseback and with riot shields. The altercation turned physical and resulted in several arrests.

Read more:Police in riot gear descend on Beale Street after earlier demonstration ended peacefully

Protesters pass a “I Am A Man” mural during a march in protest of police brutality and the death of George Floyd in downtown Memphis, Tenn., on Sunday, May 31, 2020.

Strickland called for an investigation into one of the arrests after a video taken by the Commercial Appeal early Sunday morning appeared to show a woman being tackled by Memphis police officers in riot gear as they attempted to arrest her. 

On Sunday, protesters peacefully marched through downtown Memphis, eventually broke into two groups, one following Hill while another, led by activist Rob Brown, broke off to head for the Interstate 55 overpass.

The protesters were met on the overpass by state troopers, MPD and Shelby County sheriff's department officers with riot shields. After verbal confrontations on the bridge, the protesters proceeded onto the interstate and later a residential neighborhood as they attempted to skirt law enforcement and head onto the bridge from a different angle. 

Protesters later returned downtown, congregating on Beale Street and later near the Hernando DeSoto Bridge after mounted police forced the marchers out of the entertainment district. Law enforcement used tear gas to disperse protesters near the DeSoto bridge.

Some property damage occurred Downtown early Monday morning as police dispersed or arrested those who remained on the streets.

More:NAACP, BLM Bail Fund to arrange legal representation for arrested Memphis protesters

Local news:Leaders of Memphis hospitals condemn killing of George Floyd after week of protests

Protests on Monday and Tuesday — which saw multiple protests pop up around town —ended peacefully around the 10 p.m. curfew each night.

Abston led a group of about 100 protesters who briefly shut down part of Germantown Parkway near the Agricenter. A small gathering along Highland Street came together at "the spur of the moment," one protester said, targeting an area of town that might not have seen the protests downtown over the proceeding week. 

A march was also held Downtown Tuesday evening, largely mirroring the peaceful downtown marches that had occurred over the weekend and on Monday.