Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed urges 'long-term' change amid Floyd protests

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed on Monday urged potential protesters to consider staying home for the next few nights as tensions across the nation escalate amid protests over the killing of George Floyd. 

"Stay at home and ask: What can I do to honor the life of George Floyd? What can I do to honor the life of Breonna Taylor? What can I do to honor the life of Ahmaud Taylor?" Reed said. 

Reed, who said he shared protesters "outrage" at Floyd's death, had previously called the homicide a "lynching." Reed on Monday began a press conference by acknowledging the presence of protesters and their right to protest. 

"We respect their voices, their energy, and their frustrations. ... I appreciate them for what they're doing," Reed said. "We share your anger, and our desire for change burns in our hearts, just as it does yours."

But less than 24 hours after a Birmingham protest on Sunday, which began peacefully but devolved into a riot and sparked a city curfew, Reed 

"I share your outrage over the killing of George Floyd," Reed said. "... I wonder aloud why America has still continued to fall short. But we must not further inflict damage upon ourselves, our community to express our understandable frustration and anger."

Floyd died May 25 after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee to Floyd's neck for for more than eight minutes, even after he became unresponsive and had no pulse. After widespread outcry, four officers involved in the incident were fired and Chauvin was charged with murder and manslaughter. 

Floyd's death, preceded by the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, sparked national protests. Protesters say Floyd, who was black, is the latest fatality in a systemic pattern of police brutality that disproportionately affects black people and other communities of color. 

More:George Floyd protests: How did we get here?

Many protests against police brutality and Floyd's killing, including one held at the Alabama Capitol on Saturday evening, have been peaceful. 

On Monday, Reed spoke from a podium in front of E.D. Nixon Elementary school, named in honor of the Montgomery civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement.

Nixon, a Pullman train porter who led the state chapter of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, organized the Montgomery Voters League in 1943 and served as president of both the state and local chapters of the NAACP.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said Nixon was “a symbol of the hopes and aspirations of the long oppressed people of the State of Alabama."

Reed referenced the civil disobedience and nonviolent protest that fueled the Montgomery Bus Boycott. 

"No doubt some who gathered then, as some who may now, want a drastic, radical and immediate change," Reed said. "The decision made then was not to let short-term passions get in the way of what was truly needed: Long-term, measurable and sustainable change. Yet again, Montgomery speaks to the heart and soul of our nation." 

Protesters again gathered in Montgomery on Monday evening, holding signs along West Fairview Avenue as the heavy June heat radiated from an asphalt parking lot. 

One man, who identified himself as Tristan, managed to make it to the protest after his work shift at a local manufacturing job, he said. He'd switched out his work boots for athletic sandals in the car, but his feet were boiling in steel-toed socks. But it was worth it to show up, he said, to demand more accountability from police officers accused of using excessive force. 

A few yards away, sweat dripped down behind Pastor Maurice Johnson's Florida State University face mask.

Johnson, who pastors at a Lowndes County and a Montgomery church, said he wants to see the church be a mediator between the community and "elements that have the community in an uproar." 

The pastor hefted a large cardboard sign toward traffic, receiving encouraging honks from passers-by. The sign referenced former cop A.C. Smith, who was last year convicted of manslaughter in the shooting death of Greg Gunn, a black Montgomery man who was killed just steps away from his home. 

Though Smith was convicted and sentenced to serve 14 years in prison, the presiding judge granted the former officer an appeals bond, allowing him to walk free on bond while his appeal makes it way through the courts.

Johnson on Monday said the appeals bond is a privilege rarely afforded black people. 

"There are people who have done far less than what Aaron did, and they're in prison awaiting appeal. ... They say 'Trust the process.' But the process doesn't work for us, it works for them," Johnson said. "Faith without works is dead. We don't hear what you say, we see what you do. We're tired of coming to the table and leaving with a promissory note that isn't fulfilled. No more. What we want is equality. What we want is justice." 

Johnson said he's calling for all city and community leaders to stand in solidarity with their peaceful protests, and he wants to see Smith's appeals bond rescinded: "That is the first outward expression they can do."

The pastor said he doesn't support any of the violence or property damage seen in some protest clashes across the country, but he understands the hurt and pain protesters carry with him, and he doesn't property damage is equitable to a life lost. 

"You can fix property, you can't bring Greg Gunn back," Johnson said. 

After Reed spoke, several protesters in the Nixon crowd approached him in the crowd. Ja'mel Brown, a community activist who helped organize a Saturday protest, said 

"When we had our protest, we were peaceful. We didn't tear down nothing, we didn't stop nothing," Brown told Reed. "We just want people to listen to us. 

Monday, unsubstantiated rumors spread across social media after the federal courthouse in Montgomery closed. A public information officer for the U.S. Marshals office confirmed courthouse employees had gone home for the day at noon, but said the Marshals office was still staffed and they had received no threats to the building or staff. 

Maxwell Air Force Base sent out a notice to personnel about possible protests downtown Monday evening after local police notified base officials, according to the message. 

"The protest should be peaceful as they have been in Montgomery, but conditions around protests are volatile and dynamic," the notice says. "While there are no indications of violence at this time, Maxwell-Gunter members that attend the protest should be vigilant, aware of their surroundings, and avoid any agitation groups or individuals."

Montgomery remains under a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, put in place amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Kirsten Fiscus at 334-318-1798 or KFiscus@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KDFiscus.