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In the parking lot next to Victory Temple Fellowship Church, Bishop H. Bernard Alex began to sing. He had sung similar words last summer, when Syracuse community members organized to protest the murder of George Floyd.

While he echoed lines heard months before, the organizers huddled together in the parking lot, raising their fists in the air.

“We are stronger than we’ve ever been,” Alex sang, his voice reaching a higher pitch as he drew out the first syllable of “ever.” “Hatred thought that it had us. Hatred said that we would not win.”

Alex’s song came after about 40 people marched to and from Syracuse’s Public Safety Building on Tuesday evening to honor Floyd a year after police in Minneapolis killed him. Former police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, was convicted in April of murdering Floyd, a Black man, after he kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020.

At Tuesday’s march, an organizer who drove a truck with three flags — two of which were identical, featuring an illustration of Floyd and the words “Justice for George Floyd” in capital letters on the bottom — led the crowd as it moved down James and South State streets to the Public Safety Building.

Organizers participated in chants and raised their fists as they marched, the drivers of passing cars honking their horns to express support. And when the group arrived at the Syracuse Police Department’s headquarters, they chanted “Say his name,” followed by “George Floyd.”

The crowd shared a moment of silence in Floyd’s memory, some people taking a knee if able. Hasahn Bloodworth, one of the organizers, laid on the ground with his hands behind his back.

“While we’re remembering George Floyd, we must not forget the George Floyds in our community — the George Floyds all around the world,” said Bloodworth, who co-founded the social justice group Rebirth SYR last summer.

Black people are still fighting and begging for justice, said Mered Billue, co-founder of Rebirth SYR. He noted that Congress has not passed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act or the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the latter of which would restrict the police’s use of chokeholds and develop a national registry for police misconduct, among other measures.

“I can’t stress enough that we have to focus on local elections,” Mered Billue said, criticizing the Syracuse Common Council’s approval of spending $75,000 for a six-story mural of Syracuse basketball greats, which Mayor Ben Walsh later vetoed. “When are we going to start being serious about our community?”

Two organizers who attended the march, Kayla Johnson and Twiggy Billue, are running in local elections. Johnson, one of the leaders of Rebirth SYR, is vying for a seat on the Common Council, and Twiggy Billue, president of the Syracuse chapter of the National Action Network, is running for commissioner of education for the Syracuse City School District.

Emma Folts | Senior Staff Writer

Organizers returned to Victory Temple Fellowship Church after speakers addressed the crowd at the Public Safety Building. When the group gathered in the parking lot once again, they chanted Floyd’s name and “All Black lives matter.”

After the march, Johnson said she was on edge. Attending the demonstration was already an emotional experience for her, but it was even harder to be there “in full spirits,” as the Syracuse community is going through a lot now, she said.

Sharing a moment from yesterday’s march in honor of George Floyd, held on the one-year anniversary of his murder. About 40 community members attended, and at the end, Bishop H. Bernard Alex began to sing: pic.twitter.com/bLQmwswtaS

— Emma Folts (@emmafolts) May 26, 2021

A 14-year-old has been charged with shooting and killing 15-year-old Radames Francisco on Friday, and a 16-year-old has been accused of stabbing and killing Naj’ee Wright, a 13-year-old, on Monday, Syracuse.com reported. Organizers throughout the march condemned the violence and called on community members to play a role in addressing it.

“I know my city is going through it right now, and it’s crazy because I go home and I beat my head on ‘How can I fix it?’ and ‘How can I help?’ and ‘How can I do different things?’” Johnson said. “It’s going to take a team. It’s going to take some warriors to get out here and really complete this task, but it’s going to be tough.”

Emma Folts | Senior Staff Writer

The year since Floyd’s murder has made her more emotional, Johnson said, as it has also opened her eyes to the other struggles people in the community are facing, from being unable to pay rent to being unable to afford food. She said her main focus now is to continue opening other people’s eyes.

“We need more people to be boisterous and speak out and not hold back how they feel,” she said. “It can’t just be two or three of us, because they’re going to be like, ‘Oh, forget what those three are talking about,’ or, ‘Forget what those 10 are talking about.’ But if three or four-five hundred speak out, it’s a big difference.”

As Alex sang to the crowd on Tuesday, he encouraged those listening to join in.

“But we are stronger — come on, everybody say —” Alex said.

“Than we’ve ever been,” the crowd sang with him.

Published on May 26, 2021 at 12:33 pm

Contact Emma: esfolts@syr.edu