Friday Protests in Columbia, SC
Jerome Bowers, right, speaks with members of a South Carolina “militia group” on Friday, August 28, 2020. Photo by Sean Rayford
Last week, Black Lives Matter organizer Lawrence Nathaniel anticipated 3000 people for protest events on Friday. One Republic Militia then announced their intended appearance and the BLM organizer partnered with police for the demonstrations. On Friday morning community protest leaders from One Common Cause, including Jerome Bowers, confronted Nathaniel at the statehouse about the police partnership and how that eroded trust of many community protestors.
Militia group members eventually joined the conversation and One Common Cause activists led a productive and civil dialogue about race in America. Over in The Vista at Memorial Park, civil rights demonstrators with BLM, Amplify Action, and National Action Network began lining up to march to the nearby offices of Sen. Lindsey Graham. As they took to the street with police blessing, a leader enforced social distancing.
When the demonstrators arrived at his office building a small group of self-described “patriots” were in front of the entrance. Members of the Vision Walkers helped to keep the groups physically separated and after a short time, civil rights protestors returned to the park. A leader condemned a small number of folks who weren’t wearing masks properly.
The first march, to Sen Lindsey Graham’s office involved 150-200 people who returned to the park to watch a livestream of events from Washington, DC. Hours later, about 30 people made the final march of the day to the statehouse where they joined with a few dozen others.
Photos and words by Sean Rayford. Email seanrayford@gmail.com for licensing.
Lawrence Nathaniel
“Patriots” occupy the entrance to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s office building.
Jerome Bowers, left, talks with Lawrence Nathaniel.
