Durham, Raleigh mayors write letter condemning the ‘Murder of George Floyd’

Durham city leaders denounced the killing of George Floyd at a City Council meeting Monday night and asked residents to demonstrate peacefully in the streets.

Mayor Steve Schewel read from a letter he wrote with Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin. They called the killing horrific and harmful to innocent people and “officers who themselves abhor the racism and violence so evident in the death of George Floyd.”

Council member Mark-Anthony Middleton warned during a virtual meeting that people demonstrating in downtown Durham should avoid anyone who tries to incite violence.

“If we’re out in the streets tonight, as we mourn, as we have this collective outpouring of grief … keep your eyes open for those who aren’t down with us,” Middleton said. “We don’t need anybody bringing any more bull into the Bull City.”

Middleton warned the city not to be “too cocky” and assume future demonstrations will be peaceful.

Several hundred marchers had gathered in downtown Durham around 6 p.m. Monday to protest the May 25 death of Floyd in Minneapolis and overall police violence against the black community. As of 10:30 p.m. police had announced no arrests.

Earlier a smaller group had marched onto the Durham Freeway at Alston Avenue. Police, who were notified ahead of time, redirected traffic and made no arrests. The group ended its protest when Sheriff Clarence Birkhead and Police Chief C.J Davis agreed to attend a meeting Friday to discuss overpolicing and poverty in the black community.

At the council meeting, Council member Javiera Caballero thanked the Durham police for maintaining peace during the weekend protests she attended.

“I will be listening to and taking the lead from black folk. I will continue to do work on my own racism because I know how deep and rampant anti-blackness is rooted within the Latinx community,” said Caballero, the city’s first elected Hispanic member.

Council member Jillian Johnson said Durham police leadership is better now than in the past, but the city still needs to improve its police force.

“I want to caution us against feeling superior to other cities or acting like policing issues don’t exist here, too,” Johnson said. “Our city still spends a significant and growing amount of money on policing. We still have significant racial disparities in traffic stops. We have use-of-force policies that don’t follow best practices.”

Durham, Raleigh mayors write joint letter

Schewel read from the letter he wrote with Baldwin, who Monday imposed an 8 p.m. curfew after two days of rioting in Raleigh. More than 70 North Carolina mayors had signed the letter by 5 p.m. Monday.

“The photographic evidence of this act speaks for itself,” the letter stated. “Mr. Floyd was suffocated to death by a Minneapolis police officer while pleading for his life as three other officers knelt or stood by and did nothing to help him, even as he called out, “I can’t breathe.”

The letter condemned systemic racism, saying it harms innocent people and erodes confidence in law enforcement.

“As mayors, we work closely with the police leadership in our cities, and we know that they also will not tolerate this kind of police violence and racism within their forces,” the letter continued. “Let’s work together to ensure that protests remain peaceful and stay focused on building equitable and just cities for all in North Carolina.”

‘The trauma I’m carrying is in my DNA’

City Council member DeDreana Freeman urged black people in Durham to acknowledge if they feel hurt by anti-black sentiment in the US.

“I’m grateful to the work our officers are doing here in Durham, but I just want to reiterate how far we have to go,” Freeman said. “The trauma I’m carrying is in my DNA. These issues around race and racism are with us and we have to address them.”

This story was originally published June 2, 2020 at 5:45 AM.