PARSIPPANY — Nearly 3,000 protesters marched, shouted, and danced peacefully with #BlackLivesMatter signage. The protesters assembled at Parsippany High School and marched down Vail Road, crossed Route 46, and continued into Veterans Park on Tuesday, June 2. Attending the march was a diverse group of people. Young, old, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, everyone was there to support the brothers and sisters of color.
Parsippany residents and organizers Mitchell Petit-Frere, Jabari Jackson, and Maurice Matthias said it was the first time they had ever planned a protest.
Chief of Police Andrew Miller stated “In my 28 years as a Parsippany Police Officer, never have we experienced such serious times requiring immediate, numerous and sensitive leadership decisions. Always in the interest of protecting our community, proper decisions sometimes become incredibly difficult, to the point of almost impossible, when competing interests are present, as they’ve recently been. With little more than 24 hours to establish a safe plan, with limited information, to facilitate “The Parsippany March for Black Lives” rally, which we correctly anticipated could exponentially expand to the large number of participants it did, the decisions made were ultimately and fortunately correct. Despite some reasonable and expected confusion with competing decisions, it’s critically important for the community of Parsippany to be aware of how ultimately the proper and legal decisions were made, which resulted in a 100% successful, safe, and educational event. Starting with continuous high-level law enforcement intelligence research, communication, and guidance; tens of hours of non-stop phone and conference calls from early morning until almost midnight; I speak confidentially to say we all, the leaders in the community where your tax dollars go, (PD, PTH Admin., BOE) worked exceptionally hard and well together to arrive where we did…in mutual agreement that the ultimate decision made was proper and safe for you. I’d also like to thank the organizers of the event who remained committed to helping us keep it safe, peaceful, and clean. To the residents of Parsippany…Thank you for your consideration and understanding while we all continue to serve you in the most effective and efficient way possible.”
Chants of “Black Lives Matter!” “Say his name, George Floyd!” was heard repeatedly through the march.
Portions of Route 46 were shut down completely in both directions while the protest march was in progress.
Speakers took the podium to speak, preach, pray, and sing raising awareness on the police brutality and the recent death of George Floyd.
A Parsippany High School student read her school essay on racism. She talked about the moments of racism she experienced as a Muslim woman and about the killings of young black men. Those in the crowd teared up as they clapped for each speaker. By the end of the evening, protesters were encouraged to “keep the momentum going” and continue their education on racial injustices and police reforms.
One of the organizers, Jabari Jackson said “Yesterday was a historic moment in our community and more importantly for our young people. I heard your voices yesterday but I challenge all of you to continue to push the fight for social justice everywhere. Continue to hold yourselves and the people around you accountable so that our young people understand that LOVE the right choice and the ONLY choice. I appreciate everyone from the volunteers, to the supporters, to the speakers. Everyone played a huge role in assuring this event was peaceful and beneficial for all 3000 who attended! STRONGER TOGETHER!!”
George Floyd, 46, died Memorial Day after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by Minneapolis Police Department Officer Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee on his neck for several minutes while three other officers watched. Video footage of the arrest, in which Floyd is heard saying “I can’t breathe,” spread widely online, and all four officers were fired. The three former Minneapolis police officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd were criminally charged Wednesday. Additionally, the previously-filed murder charge against former officer Derek Chauvin was elevated from third-degree murder to second-degree. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao were each charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. All four officers were terminated the day after Floyd’s death.
