Live updates: Hundreds march in State College ‘Justice for Black Lives’ protest
A week after hundreds attended a peaceful protest in State College to demand justice for George Floyd, community members have returned to the Allen Street Gates and surrounding area.
Sunday’s “Justice for Black Lives” protest was organized by the 3/20 Coalition, the community group formed last year after Osaze Osagie’s death. Osagie, a 29-year-old African American man, was fatally shot by a State College police officer in February 2019. The group has continued to push for reforms and the firing of officers who were cleared of wrongdoing by the Centre County District Attorney’s Office.
Via social media, the 3/20 Coalition invited community members to “join with us as we gather and voice our collective demands to this country, the Borough of State College and the SCPD regarding the killing of our black brothers and sisters at the hands of law enforcement around the country and right here in State College.”
Floyd, an African American man in Minneapolis, was killed May 25 after a police officer knelt on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, while several officers looked on.
Sunday’s protest started at 6 p.m., with speeches and chanting at the Allen Street Gates before crowds began marching on Penn State’s campus. At about 7 p.m., the crowd reached the intersection of Beaver Avenue and Atherton Street, sitting in the shut down roadway.
By 7:30 p.m., the group began marching on College Avenue toward the State College Municipal Building.
Here’s a look at what happened during the three-hour protest:
This story was originally published June 7, 2020 at 6:15 PM.