Over the weekend, thousands of protesters turned out nationwide in order to pay tribute to George Floyd — an unarmed black man who died after Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer, kneeled on his neck during an arrest last week. The four officers at the scene were all fired, and Chauvin has been criminally charged with third degree murder + manslaughter.
Columbia was no exception, with thousands of people coming together at the State House to demonstrate. Protesters spoke out both Saturday and Sunday to advocate for racial equality + changes to police codes of conduct locally and nationally.
“We are experiencing bad behavior and some rioting as well as some heartfelt protests and heartfelt conversations and things that we welcome,” Gov. Henry McMaster said Sunday afternoon in wake of the events that unfolded.
What began as a peaceful protest escalated to 15 police officers and one firefighter injured and ~44 people arrested long after the original organized event ended.
Mayor Steve Benjamin responded on Saturday by declaring a state of emergency and establishing a curfew for the City of Columbia to begin at 6 p.m., which lasted through the weekend. The arrests made were mostly those who violated the curfew, ten for looting and four individuals for weapon violations.
Protest organizers did not plan to move the crowd, but once it moved through downtown towards the police department the situation devolved. Rubber bullets were fired and tear gas deployed on both Saturday and Sunday. A number of businesses were damaged or destroyed, and flags were burned.
Monday the protesting continued with another meeting taking place at the state house beginning at 2 p.m. and lasting well into the evening. The group practiced a die-in, where protesters laid on their backs. This protest remained peaceful as the group demonstrated chants and songs.
Now, we want to know what questions you have about the protests or paths forward for the city. What do you want to know? What information can we provide? How can we best utilize our platform to facilitate and elevate meaningful dialogue? You can share your thoughts and questions here.
We’d also love to hear your perspective, especially if you’re a black community member, via our Voices platform, where we turn the mic over to you – our diverse and vibrant community – to share your take on how our community can better facilitate conversations on these important topics.
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