OU’s Black Student Association encourages Norman residents and the OU community to participate in a march on Saturday in honor of George Floyd, a black man killed in police custody in Minnesota last week.
The BSA released a flyer June 1 with information about the protest on Twitter. Organized by Norman residents Fayth Cope and Marissa Lawson, the walk will begin at 11 a.m. at Norman High School and will end at OU’s Parrington Oval, according to a flyer on the event’s Facebook page.
According to the Facebook page, protesters are asked to adhere to social distancing regulations while wearing masks and limiting groups to no more than 50 people. Participants are specifically asked not to block traffic in an attempt to keep the march as peaceful as possible.
Friends and family members are encouraged to bring signs, banners, shirts and masks made with designs honoring Floyd, according to the Facebook page.
Saturday’s event will be one of many protests that have been held around the Oklahoma City metro area in recent days. Black Lives Matter hosted a march that took participants from the black community on the northeast side of Oklahoma City to the Oklahoma State Capitol Building and the Oklahoma County Jail the afternoon of May 31.
Black Lives Matter supporters also held a protest at Norman’s Andrews Park June 1, at which Norman Mayor Breea Clark and several other city leaders and influencers spoke out against racialized violence in the black community.
“Over time, murders committed by officers have been covered up or excused because of their badge,” the event’s Facebook page said. “The goal today is to expose the system for what it really is while speaking for others who could be too scared to speak out. Our community should come together to be allies and safe people for the minorities. If you’re silent, you’re standing with the oppressor.”
