Hundreds attend peaceful protest in State College to demand justice for George Floyd

Since March, downtown State College has been quiet and mostly empty due to the coronavirus pandemic, which sent Penn State students home following spring break and closed businesses. But hundreds of people, carrying signs and wearing masks, flooded into the area Sunday afternoon during a peaceful protest to demand justice for George Floyd.

The protesters joined thousands across the country who have taken to the streets following the May 25 death of Floyd, an unarmed African American man who was handcuffed and pinned to the ground in Minneapolis.

The protest was set to begin at noon Sunday, and by 12:05 p.m., large crowds were lined up along both sides of East College Avenue. As more and more people gathered across from The Corner Room, music played from loudspeakers, cars honked their horns and community members took turns addressing the crowd.

Speakers included State College Mayor Ron Filippelli, former Penn State basketball player Lamar Stevens, members of the Penn State Black Caucus and State College Area High School students.

“This is the right place to be,” Filippelli told the crowd. “For too long, we’ve been having these kinds of reactions and nothing changes.”

The rally was originally planned by Lilyana Hasan, a rising senior at State High. She said seeing Floyd’s death in the news and not seeing a local response made her want to organize.

“This bracelet I wear, it says ‘Be the change you want to see in the world,’ and if you don’t see someone taking action, you should take action yourself,” the 16-year-old said. “I just made a flyer and posted it on my social media, and it got spread that way.”

With widespread unrest across the U.S. in the days since Floyd’s death, Hasan was adamant that the protest remain peaceful, and that State College police be present.

“I don’t believe violence is the answer,” Hasan said. “Look how much the civil rights movement was able to accomplish through peaceful protest.”

Hasan said turnout for the event was much higher than the expected 100, possibly topping 1,000. But it wasn’t just State High or Penn State students — entire families showed up as well.

Spencer and Elana Szczesny came with their two children, Sadie and Adam, because they wanted to support their fellow community members of color.

“It feels really important to stand with our neighbors and friends and community,” Elana Szczesny said. “It’s important to teach our children that this inequality exists.”

After hearing speakers’ speeches, poems and chants, the protesters marched against traffic patterns down East College Avenue before turning right on McAllister Street and right on Beaver Avenue, where they laid down in the street in solidarity with Floyd and other African Americans who lost their lives at the hands of police.

The streets were blocked off by police vehicles. As protesters walked by, some yelled obscenities at the officers standing guard. Skip Ryan, a State College police officer standing on the corner of College Avenue and McAllister Street, said the comments didn’t faze him.

“I work here for football games, you know,” Ryan said. “I’m glad it’s peaceful, I think it’s going to remain peaceful.”

Shouts echoed down Beaver Avenue as the back of the crowd heard phrases from those in front of them. Chants included “Black Lives Matter,” “Say his name, George Floyd” and “I can’t breathe” — Floyd’s plea to the police officer who pinned him to the ground and put his knee on his neck for about eight minutes.

Many also carried handmade signs on lined paper, cardstock and even pizza boxes. Terrell Lewis, a rising senior at Penn State, brought a sign covered with the names of black men killed by police officers, which he read through a megaphone to the crowd.

“A lot of innocent lives are being lost, so how can you not come out?” Lewis said. “In America, a lot of people aren’t treated equally.”

Some signs carried the name of Osaze Osagie, the 29-year-old who was fatally shot by a State College police officer in March 2019.

After more than two hours, protesters made their way to their final destination — the State College Municipal Building — where they heard from more speakers, including Hasan, who called on police across the country to spend less time on gun training and more time on crisis intervention.

“This protest is just the start,” Hasan said. “It does not end here.”

This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 12:19 PM.