Every week since the death of George Floyd, members of the Binkley Baptist Church community gather along Fordham Boulevard in Chapel Hill and hold up Black Lives Matter signs for passing drivers in a peaceful protest.
On July 3, an act of violence interrupted the protest. A resident at a nearby complex walked over to the church’s demonstration, shouted insults at the demonstrators and punched a Black protester.
For many people, the incident did not come as a surprise.
“I think it’s terrible,” said Emile Charles. “I think many people wouldn’t think that would happen in our community. Although for many of us, that’s not a surprise.”
In response to the assault, the crowd outside Binkley Baptist Church this week grew to over a hundred. Standing six feet apart and holding signs in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, protesters continued to spread a message of equality for passing drivers.
One of the largest signs at the protest was made by Maggie Bryan, who said people needed to realize that acts of racism occur in Chapel Hill.
“I just felt like there needed to be some signs that were more specific to Chapel Hill,” Bryan said. “I feel like a lot of people don’t recognize that racism is still very relevant in Chapel Hill.”
Maggie Bryan (left) holds up the largest sign at a protest outside Binkley Baptist Church on Friday, July 10 in Chapel Hill. (Dakota Moyer/Chapelboro.com)
Protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have popped up around the globe ever since Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day. Video surfaced on social media showing the Black man saying he was unable to breath as he was pinned beneath an officer’s knee.
Members of the Binkley Baptist Church said their message to passing drivers was one of equality.
“I’m a member of Binkley church, first of all,” said Charles Coble. “We believe that the whole message, the whole Christian message that Jesus delivered on Earth was one of inclusion, welcoming, justice.
“That’s why we’re here because those things are being denied to a large swath of the citizens of this country — most notably Black citizens. So as a church, we talked about it and said, ‘What can we do?’ We said, one of the things we can do is just get out and not have a protest so much as have a vigil.”
Protesters hold up signs in support of the Black Lives Matter movement outside Binkley Baptist Church on Friday, July 10 in Chapel Hill. (Dakota Moyer/Chapelboro.com)
Velma Ferrell, another member of the church, said she was at the protest to send a message to white people in the community.
“I’m out here because I think white people need to make a stand about Black lives mattering. I think we stood on the sidelines too long. We need to pay attention and make a statement.”
Chapel Hill and Orange County have seen several protests since Floyd’s death on Memorial Day. While some were organized by local NAACP chapters, others were put together by students and young activists.
Holding a sign that read “Stop Killing Us,” Lorie Clark said she was encouraged to see a diverse crowd at the church.
“I’m excited about it, to see a diverse crowd in regards to race and gender,” Clark said. “I mean, even the little ones here, they might not have a clear idea of what’s going on, but eventually they’ll get a sense of why this is important for them to have college students and to have older people here. It says a lot about the fact that this community will not tolerate hatred and injustice.”
Lorie Clark holds a sign that reads “Stop Killing Us” outside Binkley Baptist Church on Friday, July 10 in Chapel Hill. (Dakota Moyer/Chapelboro.com)
Clark said people standing up for the Black Lives Matter movement and for systematic changes in the country should be the victims of violence.
“I believe that Black lives matter and something needs to be done to change the systems that have been created to keep marginalized people oppressed,” said Clark. “More specifically, I heard about the incident that happened last Friday, which is just fueled with hatred and us getting out here, letting people know how we feel that we want to stand up and see systematic changes should not incite violence.
“So I’m here to stand in solidarity with my brothers and sisters who want to see change and change at a local level and change at a national level.”
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