Protest updates: Madison wraps up week of events; protester says it's 'the beginning of a revolution'

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Across America, protesters are demonstrating against the death of George Floyd, a black man who died with his neck pinned under the knee of since-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Floyd called out for his mother. He gasped the words: "I can't breathe." He was accused of trying to buy a pack of cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is covering local demonstrations and fallout and will update this story throughout the day.

See Friday's full coverage here. Some highlights: A new mural honored Floyd. Milwaukee's mayor spoke against using rubber bullets and tear gas on protesters. There are new concerns about Boogaloo boys.

Some background:

Milwaukee has a long and proud history of civil rights activism against police brutality and racial inequity. In 1967, demonstrators took to the streets for 200 consecutive days, marching until Milwaukee passed one of the strongest fair housing laws in the U.S. Yet, it remains one of the country's most segregated metro areas.

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10:23 p.m.: Madison wraps up week of events; protester says it's 'the beginning of a revolution'

Madison organizations are wrapping up their week of action, “In Defense of Black Life,” demanding justice against police brutality after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.

From last Saturday to this Saturday, Madison has not let up on the protests, which have taken place every night and lasted until the early hours of the morning.

And there’s been plenty of contrast in the downtown area in what each night looked like. In just five days, State Street went from a scene of total destruction to the picture of community — covered in bright murals, and no altercations with law enforcement.

While protesters still gather at the Capitol on Saturday night, organizers took to Facebook to discuss political education and action.

"We should not use policing, prisons and punishment to solve social issues… We should be investing in reformative, life-building and life-affirming solutions," said Morathi Adams of Freedom, Inc. "We live in a society where black life is not valued because of policing structures, jail structures. We have to disrupt those systems.”

Over the course of the week, organizers have compared Floyd’s death to that of Tony Robinson’s in 2015, when a police officer shot and killed the unarmed black teenager after an altercation. Robinson’s death rocked the capital city and spurred a number of large protests.

Bianca Gomez compared Saturday’s protest to those that occurred after Robinson’s death.

”They said it was peaceful because it wasn’t threatening to whiteness,” Gomez said. “Five years ago we were not seen as peaceful.”

CJ, a local activist who’s been fighting for black rights in Madison for a decade, led chants on the steps of the Capitol building Saturday evening.

He said this can’t be the last day of protests, even though the the week of action is coming to a close.

“This is not the end of a weeklong movement — this is the beginning of a revolution. I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “The movement never ended.

“We thought things were equal when they weren’t and here we are again. I’m going to make sure my children don’t have to fight this again.”

—Allison Garfield

10:07 p.m.: Hundreds march against officer who's killed 3

Several hundred people marched through Wauwatosa on Saturday demanding the police department there fire an officer who’s killed three people in the line of duty.

During the march, protesters repeatedly chanted the names of those who have been fatally shot by officer Joseph Mensah: Antonio Gonzalez, Jay Anderson Jr. and Alvin Cole.

Mensah was cleared of wrongdoing in the first two shootings, which happened in 2015 and 2016, but remains under investigation for the February shooting of Cole, who was 17.

Cole’s older sister, Taleavia Cole, led protesters on a three-mile march from the intersection of 76th and Burleigh streets to a parking lot outside Mayfair Mall, where her brother was shot. There, organizers recited a phone number for the Wauwatosa Police Department and marchers flooded the phone lines to demand Mensah be fired.

Taleavia Cole and her mother, Tracy, addressed the crowd before the march. They said Alvin Cole came from a good, stable family and planned to join his sister at Jackson State University this fall.

“Alvin wasn’t brought up in a broken home,” Tracy Cole said. “The system is broken.”

8 p.m.: Bucks will hold public protest march on Sunday

The Milwaukee Bucks will hold a public protest march in support of social justice on Sunday at 1 p.m. on the plaza in front of Fiserv Forum.

The march will include players, coaches, ownership, management and staff. Several Bucks players, including reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, took part in a protest march Saturday evening.

There will be public remarks at the intersection of Juneau Ave. and Vel R. Phillips Ave., and then the march will follow.

- Ben Steele

6:12 p.m.: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Sterling Brown and other Bucks players join Milwaukee protest

Several Milwaukee Bucks players, including reigning NBA most valuable player Giannis Antetokounmpo, joined local activist Frank Nitty as protesters marched down 27th Street.

Antetokounmpo was joined by Bucks teammates Sterling Brown, Donte DiVincenzo, Brook Lopez, two-way player Frank Mason II and Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Giannis' brother.

The group wore identical gray T-shirts with the slogan "I can't breathe" printed on the front. All the players wore masks and gloves due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"I want my kid to grow up here in Milwaukee, and not to be scared to walk in the streets," Antetokounmpo said. "I don't want my kid to have hate in his heart."

Read the full story.

— Ben Steele

5 p.m.: Man arrested during protest in Milwaukee speaks out

The 28-year-old man who was taken to the ground by Milwaukee police and arrested during a protest earlier last week is speaking out.

“I’ve not generally been an activist but I saw what happened to George Floyd and I wanted to get out and support my community and stand with them in solidarity. Black lives matter,” said Cameron Murdoch in a video released Saturday.

“I never expected that I would be assaulted by the police with a knee on my neck,” he said. “I’m saddened that participating in a safe protest during the day made me the victim of police brutality.”

Murdoch was arrested Tuesday during a demonstration at 6th Street and McKinley Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Police Department has said it is reviewing officers’ use of force during the arrest.

In the video, Murdoch said he wants to hold police accountable for how they treated him and push for new policies and standards. He is being represented by attorneys E. Edgar Lin and Drew DeVinney.

“Mr. Murdoch’s constitutional rights were violated and he will be pursuing any available claims to the full extent of the law,” the attorneys said in a news release.

The nationwide protests against police brutality were prompted by the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck for more than eight minutes as Floyd and bystanders pleaded with the officer to stop.

—Ashley Luthern

4:30 p.m.: Thousands gather in Shorewood and Whitefish Bay

Roughly 1,500 people came to Atwater Park in Shorewood Saturday afternoon to protest police brutality and racial injustice.

Just two miles north, in Whitefish Bay, more than 1,000 protesters gathered for a separate demonstration outside Whitefish Bay Village Hall. Protesters laid in the street for nine minutes, which is nearly the amount of time Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin left his knee on 46-year-old George Floyd’s neck, killing him and sparking more than a week of protests across the country.

The Shorewood protest was organized by students from Shorewood High School. One of those students, 14-year-old Bella Busby, recounted the 2014 killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer who thought the boy’s toy gun was real.

“There are countless stories that have ended the same way, with black people being murdered for something that could have ended with a ticket,” she said.

The Shorewood School District has grappled with many race-related controversies of its own, prompting the district to hire its first equity director, Sam Coleman, who spoke at the rally.

Coleman said the protest was organized to “resist against the state-sanctioned and systemically-reinforced violence against black bodies.”

“We have to declare that black lives matter today and every day,” he said.

State Rep. David Bowen told the crowd that the state Legislature, Congress and city officials are blocking policies that he said would reduce police violence toward black communities.

While he said some people might feel “antsy” from some of the protesters’ actions, like driving on the grass and sidewalk in Shorewood last weekend, he said civil disobedience is needed to create change in policing policy.

“If it’s not making you uncomfortable, it’s not working,” he said.

- Jeff Rumage

2:37 p.m. Cedarburg event back on; this time it's Black Lives Matter

Remember that Peace in the Park event canceled Saturday in Cedarburg over the lack of insurance liability? A new event now appears to be taking its place.

A Black Lives Matter protest is now scheduled for 3 p.m. in Cedar Creek Park. The announcement being circulated on Facebook says the event was "re-created" after the organizer of the original event was "intimidated" by Cedarburg government into canceling.

Kayla Stoflet-Santillanes said she canceled her anti-racism event because she couldn't afford the liability insurance required by the city’s permit if the crowd grew beyond 250 people. The estimate she obtained as of Friday would have cost $15,000. (See below.)

— Annysa Johnson

2:20 p.m. City blocks traffic in area of frequent protests

In an effort to limit vehicle traffic in one of the areas of frequent protests over the last week, the city of Milwaukee is blocking access near North Martin Luther King Drive and West Center Street through Sunday, according to the Department of Public Works.

DPW issued a statement Saturday saying Center Street would be blocked in both directions about a block from North Martin Luther King Drive as of 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

Beginning at 3 p.m., all north-south traffic of North Martin Luther King Drive would be blocked between West Center Street and West North Avenue. And vehicles would not be able to turn from North MLK Drive onto West Center Street.

— Annysa Johnson

1:30 p.m.: Dontre Hamilton documentary free on YouTube

"The Blood Is at the Doorstep," a documentary about the death of Dontre Hamilton at the hands of a Milwaukee police officer and the movement that tragedy spawned, is now showing for free on YouTube.

Producer-director Erik Ljung said via email Friday that the 2017 movie has been uploaded to YouTube for free for a limited time "to make it as accessible as possible."

Hamilton was shot 14 times by a police officer in Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee in 2014. "The Blood Is at the Doorstep" tells his story, what happened that day, and the aftermath for Hamilton's family and for the city.

The movie's being made available to a wider audience, Ljung wrote, to help with the continuing conversation about police violence and community engagement in making change happen.

"The Blood Is at the Doorstep" is one of several movies about the black experience in America that have made available for free viewing online since protests proliferated in Milwaukee and around the world following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died with his neck pinned under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.

1:05 p.m.: MPS' Posley offers resources for talking to your children about race

Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Keith Posley on Saturday called on the city, state and nation to hear the voices of young people and "finally face the difficult history that we have avoided for so long."

And he offered a number of resources families can use to talk to their children about race.

"I am always humbled and inspired by our students’ resilience, intelligence, and fortitude," said Posley, whose district serves almost 75,000 students, most of them low-income children of color.

"My hope rests with all of our children, and their capacity to move past the divisions, racism, and bigotry that have marked our country since long before its founding. I share their vision and belief in a just world where every person, of every race, belongs and is honored and celebrated."

— Annysa Johnson

11:01 a.m.: Cedarburg peace event canceled over insurance costs

An anti-racism event scheduled at a Cedarburg park Saturday was canceled after the organizer could not obtain the liability insurance required by the city’s permit if the crowd grew beyond 250 people.

Kayla Stoflet-Santillanes of Cedarburg said there was no way to accurately gauge the size of the crowd that might turn out for the event she’d dubbed Peace in the Park, and the only insurance estimate she could obtain as of Friday would have cost $15,000.

“I’m disappointed, but ultimately I think it’s going to take place at a later date,” said Stoflet-Santillanes, who is continuing to search for insurance. “That’s my hope.”

Stoflet-Santillanes said about 170 people were expected to attend at last count, and that she’d had an overwhelmingly positive response from local businesses. She said the Cedarburg Police Department had been helpful, waiving the permit fee and agreeing not to charge her for the cost of city employees who might be deployed as a result of the event. But the insurance, she said, was an insurmountable hurdle, at least as of Friday.

She’s still hoping to sell the 50 T-shirts that were printed for the event by a black-owned West Allis company. They feature a black peace sign with the words: Peace in the Park … Anti-racism, Pro-Justice … Cedarburg 6.6.20. More information will be available soon at the Cream City Print Lounge.

— Annysa Johnson

8:07 a.m.: MPS board calls on police to denounce use of tear gas, rubber bullets; vows dialogue in district

The Milwaukee Public Schools board of directors called on the Milwaukee Police Department to “publicly renounce the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and other aggressive measures against peaceful protesters exercising their first amendment rights.”

The board said directors would be working with Superintendent Keith Posley and his administration to engage the district in talks with MPS students around the issues of race and racism.

“We are committed to the emotional and physical safety of Black students and other youth of color,” the board said in a statement issued late Friday, on the eighth day of protests across the region following the death of George Floyd.

“It means that our schools and classrooms must be safe spaces for dialogue, listening to students, and support on the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement. We have a responsibility to end the school-to-prison pipeline and ensure that the curriculum is anti-racist and culturally relevant.”

The board said it stands with black youth and their communities in opposing “all racist systems of oppression including laws, policies, and government actions.”

“The disproportionate rates of suspensions and expulsions, mass incarceration, the war on drugs, unjust policing, voter suppression, and the underfunding of public schools, as well as, structural policies like redlining, gentrification, employment discrimination, and more— all have disastrous consequences on Black communities,” it said.

MPS, which serves about 75,000 students, mostly low-income children of color, has budgeted funds this year to expand its ethnic studies and Black Lives Matter programming.

— Annysa Johnson

1 a.m.: Tense moments aside, eighth day of Milwaukee protests is peaceful

It was mostly peace and calm on the eighth day of protests against police brutality in Milwaukee.

But that doesn’t mean there weren’t tense moments.

One group of local activists protesting the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police began their march in Humboldt Park on Friday and completed their loop just before 10:30 p.m., according to a livestream of the event.

The protesters cheered for the event organizers, who thanked everyone for walking a reported 16 miles, and everyone took a moment to howl at the full moon in celebration.

Another march of some 200 protesters, led by local activist Frank Nitty, traveled down West Wisconsin Avenue before heading to the city’s south side.

The group came face to face with dozens of Milwaukee police officers when the marchers stopped shortly after 11 p.m. in front of the Milwaukee Police Department's District 2 station at 245 W. Lincoln Ave.

The protesters chanted, "Kneel with us," while one or two in the crowd stepped forward to direct comments at the police officers lined in front of the station.

None of the officers appeared to respond.

Khalil Coleman, one of the leaders of the march, helped defuse the tension from the standoff by handing his bullhorn to a 4-year-old girl, who belted out, "Black lives matter," prompting cheers from the crowd of protesters.

Later, two protesters told Nitty that marching was “the best way” to spend their 21st wedding anniversary. Nitty brought them to the front of the crowd so other protesters could congratulate them and they could share their story.

— Dan Bice