A Peaceful Protest
They Were Burning Cars and Looting Stores Elsewhere, But Not in the City Beautiful
Coral Gables’ protest against police brutality this past weekend looked like none other in South Florida, or the nation for that matter: A peaceful gathering that was even attended by a score of area police chiefs, who not only listened to the protesters, but actually took a knee and added their prayers to the cause.
In other parts of the nation, and even other places in Miami-Dade, the protest against the recent death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis turned violent. Weekend news feeds were filled with images of tear gas in the streets as protestors threw bottles at police, broke windows and lit cars on fire.
In Coral Gables, it was more like what one observer called “a drive-by birthday party.” As many as 500 protesters assembled on Miracle Mile near Le Jeune Road, and from there marched to nearby City Hall, chanting “I can’t breathe” and “Help me.” Police joined them along the way as the crowd was given support via honks and waves from drivers in luxury sedans and SUVs.
But while the crowd was ethnically diverse, the City of Coral Gables is not. Its inhabitants are mostly affluent Latins and almost entirely white. So why hold the rally here?
First, the demonstration was organized by three University of Miami PhD students who founded the ProtestsMiami organization. They felt that Coral Gables was too insulated from acts of injustice such as the killing of George Floyd, according to Oshea Johnson, one of the organizers.
Second, it turns out that Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak is the Miami-Dade and Monroe counties district director for the Florida Police Chiefs Association. Using that post, Hudak was able to convince 22 police chiefs to join him at the protest, where they themselves took a knee in prayer for the victims of police violence. Shades of Colin Kaepernick! This was a sight that could hardly be imagined in another U.S. city. But here in Coral Gables, where the police listen to protesters, dialogue beats destruction.
