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Dozens March Around Downtown Columbia For Black Lives

More than 50 people marched in downtown Columbia at 2 p.m. Sunday, joining a nationwide protest of the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis.

The march began at Francis Quadrangle on MU's campus, took a route around downtown Columbia and got back to campus where it started.

"No violence, no peace! No racist police!" yelled Ashton Brown, one of the leaders of the rally.

People of several ethnicities participated and responded to Brown's call. Brianna Smith, a senior at the MU, showed up to support her friend and black people. “They’re doing it because silence is literally violence. And they have to make a statement,” Smith said, “We are just here to support because they’re families and this is honestly getting close to home. Black lives do truly matter. ”

Participants held up posters and yelled things such as “Black lives matter,” “I can’t breathe” and “Silence is violence” during the parade and received a lot of support from people passing by. “People who are just walking their dogs or just outside came and decided to join the protest. It’s really powerful to see the community coming together in a time like this,” said MU student Ayanna Hayes.

The event was initiated in a GroupMe conversation Sunday morning among MU students, Hayes said. “I do believe we will be out here again doing the same thing,” Hayes said. “I don’t know when it will be but we would definitely be having a GroupMe where protests will be coming out.”