A large group of Chicago residents, most of them African Americans, faced off and eventually shut down a Black Lives Matter rally.
Many of the residents expressed their anger with the recent looting that took place in the city’s Magnificent Mile.
The situation in Chicago has been one of confusion and chaos. After a man was allegedly shot by the police because he tried to pull a gun on the officers, a group of looters targeted high-end stores in the Windy City’s downtown area.
Fox 32 reported that a similar group of protestors gathered around Englewood, only to be met with a resisting local population. Darryl Smith, a local resident, used expletives to tell everyone who isn’t from the area to leave.
Through a loudspeaker, Smith also expressed anger that such crowds never gathered in the many events in which a child got shot. Saying that these protests only happen when it involved the police, Smith told the protestors to go to Michigan if they want to send a message.
Although the protestors continued down the street to reach the police station, the locals were just as hostile towards the protestors. Duane Kidd, who lived in Englewood for her entire life, said that the problem was that none of the protestors will be here come tomorrow.
Kidd argued that the local community would have to bear the burden should the protests instigate the police force. She added that the protestors will be “sipping sangria somewhere”, suggesting that all they do is provoke conflict and leave.
The march was ended within an hour after it began. One of the organizers said that they did not feel safe, although it is unclear whether he or she was referring to the police or the local residents.
However, no one other than the march organizers understood or condoned the looting. Even the grandmother of the man who was shot and incited the protests harshly criticized the looting, adding that there is no excuse for all the damage that was caused.
Ariel Atkins, a local Black Lives Matter organizer, had previously justified the looting as a reparation of sorts. Many even in the African American community strong disagreed, stating that looters are just using the protests to get what they want.
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Replaced!