From Peace to Protests in Salt Lake City
What happened in Utah after George Floyd’s death
Although the news in Utah does report on tragic local events just like everywhere else in the United States, Utah is normally a fairly peaceful place. The coronavirus pandemic had made changes such as closing non-essential businesses and having most people working from home or not working. Then the pandemonium occurred after the tragic killing of George Floyd at the end of May by a Minneapolis police officer. It caused turmoil throughout the nation. Utah was not exempt and shared in the events that followed.
Over two months ago on May 30, 2020, protests broke out across the nation to seek justice for Black men (including George Floyd) who were the victims of police brutality. There were protests in Utah as well. Most of the protesters were not Black since Utah has a relatively small Black population. White people and other ethnicities were more prevalent than Black people.
Protests went on for several days. People first started downtown with a protest which turned ugly when some people set a police car on fire. That uncalled-for behavior set off violence and looting. People marched up the street to express their anger on the grounds of the State Capitol Building. A place which had been peaceful and quiet became the scene of several protests and unrest.
Since we live in very close proximity to the Utah State Capitol, I went down a couple of times just to observe the situation. The first night the protesters became destructive by painting graffiti on the wall in front of the capitol. Workers and volunteers cleaned it up the next day which was a Sunday.
Although the protests have not gone on continuously in Utah as they have in some other areas of the country, the people tried to make their points clear with several nights of protest. They even held a Black Lives Matter rally one morning at 6 am at the City and County Building in downtown Salt Lake City. I attended that rally and met friends there. My attendance was a means of showing solidarity from members of the Asian American communities in Utah. It was a peaceful rally with Black Lives Matter officials and other leaders speaking to the group of peaceful protesters.
It is unfortunate that some people resorted to vandalism, rioting, looting, and other criminal behavior while trying to originally have peaceful protests for Black Lives Matter and against racism. That also happened in Utah to some degree.
Some will argue that All Lives Matter, which they do, but it is a fact of life that Black lives have seemed to matter less than others for a long time. The treatment that many Black people report that they regularly encounter by others in the general population is appalling. To be treated as second class citizens is not respectful. It is an injustice. Black lives matter as much as the lives of anyone else.
There is too much racism in the country, particularly against Black people. Everyone knows it. As an Asian American who was born and raised in Utah (and lived in a few other places), I have known racism throughout my life. However, I can say that I have not had to endure racism to the degree that Black people regularly face.
Life needs to be more just. We need to respect all people and not let the unjust act of racism continue to rear its ugly head. Hopefully, the peaceful protests will help to bring about change.
[Information from the Internet and KSL.com]