More than 200 people gather at Dow Park in Jamestown to protest the death of George Floyd on Sunday. OBSERVER Photo by Cameron Hurst

JAMESTOWN – Over 250 demonstrators gathered once again in Dow Park on Sunday looking for reform nearly two weeks after the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd.

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin had been charged with second-degree murder for Floyd’s death, while three other officers at the scene — Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao — were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after having been relieved of their duties last week.

Sunday’s demonstration — organized by the Jamestown Justice coalition — began with comments from the Rev. Chloe Smith, who praised the community for serving as a model for what civil dialogue can look like as protests are being held across the country.

“Small is the new big,” Smith said. “We have cities all over this country that are becoming militarized. The tanks are rolling in, the military is rolling in, people are being shot with rubber bullets — but Jamestown has been different.”

Smith also cited the willingness of Mayor Eddie Sundquist, Jamestown Police Chief and director of public safety Harry Snellings and Sheriff James Quattrone to engage in dialogue with citizens.

“We are not the enemy,” she said. “The people are not the enemy. We are exercising our right to assemble and speak. So, today, we stand as one: the United States of America. We will no longer stand for injustice, for racism. It has been built into the very structure of America, but today we are going to tear it down.”

Smith then asked the crowd to form a heart with their hand.

“We’re sending our love to the family of George Floyd, we’re sending our love to the family of Breonna Taylor, we are sending our love to the family of Ahmaud Arbery and all those countless and unnamed people who have been brutalized by police and their own neighbor. We’re sending our love to one another. We’re sending our love to this city because only love is going to conquer hate.”

Immediately following Smith’s comments, those in attendance took a knee in silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds — symbolizing the length of the video depicting Chauvin pressing his knee to Floyd’s neck that went viral after his death on May 25.

“Eight minutes and 46 seconds,” said city resident Justin Hubbard, one of the organizers of the event. “It feels like an eternity, because it isn’t about eight minutes and 46 seconds, because it’s about 400 years of oppression.”

“Last week, I was not angry, I was enraged by this,” Hubbard added. “And, I was enraged by people in my own family who said, before they said anything about the murder of this man, George Floyd, ‘Well they shouldn’t be looting, they shouldn’t be burning things down, they are so angry, why are they so angry?’ I told them that we have been angry for 400 years. It’s about time that you stop watching, it’s about time that you start hearing and it’s about time that you start listening. It’s about time that we start acting.”

Hubbard also credited the city for re-instating the Human Rights Commission — a measure that Sundquist announced on Friday.

“We’re not going to stop, we are only going to continue and we will only grow stronger because there are good things in this world and good things in this nation and good things in this city worth fighting for,” he said. “I will fight alone, but I do not want to — who will fight with me? It’s not about me, not about you, it’s about us.”

Several other members of the coalition also spoke at Sunday’s demonstration, which also gave community members the opportunity to register to vote and exchange books. Citizens also read poetry and participated in a drum circle.

Quattrone, who attended the rally for the second straight week, also addressed the crowd, pointing out a quote by C.S. Lewis depicted on one a sign in the crowd: “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

“We can’t change the beginning, but we can start a beginning and this is what we need to be doing,” Quattrone said. “We’re going to continue to do that. I try to live a Christian life with my guide being the holy scripture, but I fail often. Those who try to do the same thing probably agree with me. We all fail often. But, in the first book of the Bible, it talks to us that we are all created in God’s image: it doesn’t say a specific color, race or creed.”

“I look around and it is very good that we have so many people here, but the diversity is great and the conversations are ones that we need to continue,” he added. “One of my mantras is that we have to have unconditional respect. I hear people say often that they’ll give respect when they get it — we can’t wait for it. We have to go give it and we have to communicate. Communication isn’t just talking and I’ve been doing a lot of listening, a lot of learning.”