ROGERS, Ark. — Protesters gathered to march from Forester Park to Rogers City Hall Wednesday (June 10).
Different speakers at the march talked about the history of civil rights and other movements in American history that remind them of recent protests around the country.
Organizers say they hope Rogers Mayor Greg Hines will show up to the march to talk to protesters. They say they submitted questions to Rogers Police and the mayor's office and received a response Wednesday afternoon in the form of a Facebook post.
Some at the protest said racial oppression is happening in the legal system and in the workforce.
“We are here to awaken everyone and let them know that there’s something going on in their system,” said Jada Portillo, co-organizer of the march.
Some of the questions sent to Rogers Police and the mayor's office included: "Is there an ordinance to ban the use of chokeholds by law enforcement? Is there a community oversight committee that is in dialogue with the Rogers Police?"
Some protesters say they want to hear a direct apology from the Rogers Mayor about how the Bentonville protest was handled since some Rogers Police Officers were also there. They said they would also like to have a discussion about how law enforcement can change certain tactics moving forward.
“Due to George Floyd‘s death that has sparked many people to wake up and look at their own police station, in their own police system,” Portillo said.
Despite not getting Mayor Hines to speak today, it was a peaceful protest.
“Some of us are being a little more paranoid so that our community members who want to grieve want to demand change are free to do so without having to look over the shoulders,” Alex Tripodi said.
“We definitely just want to change on how police officers are handling protests and handling their cases in general,” Portillo said.