Protesters: 'Too much racism'

CLOVIS - The chants and the signs and the honking car horns will not magically bring George Floyd back to life. The purpose was to keep his memory alive.

Hundreds of area residents on Friday came out to the Clovis-Carver Public Library parking lot to peacefully protest the May 25 death of Floyd, an African-American, at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white.

Chauvin has since been fired, arrested, and charged with second-degree murder, but even an eventual conviction might not be enough in the view of many to bring about real social justice.

So, area residents braved Friday's punishing heat to protest, as Clovis joined cities large and small across the country to make their voices heard, their feelings felt. A group that began at around 90 at 10 a.m. swelled to over 200 by noon. Others took their place throughout the seven-hour gathering.

A vigil was also planned for Saturday evening at Greene Acres Park.

Organizers, following an opening prayer, stressed to participants they aimed for a peaceful protest.

Clovis' Shaundra Mahan, 30, helped organize Friday's rally. "To raise awareness of racism and cultural divides within our own community," she said.

"And in support of what is going on around the world right now, around the nation right now. There is just too much racism and there are too many people of color dying at the hands of police who are supposed to protect and serve us."

Mahan, who is African-American, said she has experienced racism first-hand.

"Not police brutality, no," she said. "But have I ever felt as if I was racially profiled? Yes."

And that feeling is not unique to African-Americans. Just ask Jesus Tovar, 27, and his 26-year-old sister Cynthia, who hail from Salinas, California, and now live in Portales. Cynthia is attending Eastern New Mexico University; Jesus is planning to enroll.

"We feel like racism has been around for a long time," Jesus said. "Our parents were originally from Mexico; they migrated here. We're from California, and we've experienced racism all our lives, especially them because they don't speak English. So I feel that this isn't just the experience of the African-American community. It specifically is right now, but we have each other's backs."

"There's a lot of injustice happening," Cynthia said, "and it breaks my heart. And I don't feel like I can do much, but if making posters and marching is something I can do, I'm going to do it. And if I have to stand here all day, I'll do it."

Temperatures were well into the 90s on Friday afternoon.

During the noon hour, protesters on both sides of Main Street were asked to observe a moment of silence however they saw fit for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time a criminal complaint reports Chauvin's knee was on Floyd's neck.

Portales' Amanda Martinez, 40, is white, but racism still strikes a personal chord with her.

"My husband is Hispanic," Martinez said, "and he has been attacked by police unlawfully. So this really means a lot to me because he's such an amazing person, and I know that being discriminated against because of your color or your gender, your whatever, has to be awful. ...

"My son, who is half Hispanic, asked me one time, 'Have you ever been harassed by police?' And I said, 'No, because I'm white.' ... So, I just wanted the people of color in our community, in our state, in our country, to know that I'm an ally."

Rose Garcia, 20, has had her own Twitch channel for the past four years, and she uses it to raise social consciousness via livestream.

"It started initially with the gay rights movement," Garcia said. "I was like, 'Wow, people are really ashamed of bringing this to light.'"

Garcia was at Friday's rally to interview protesters about the Floyd killing.

"I want to use my platform for good," she said, "and bring more awareness to what's going on."

Police were present through much of Friday's event, mingling with the crowds, blocking the street at one point so activists could cross without having to contend with traffic.

There were no reports of violence associated with Friday's event or at smaller gatherings at Greene Acres Park on Wednesday and Thursday nights where police answered questions and listened to community concerns.