NORFOLK, Va. — Protesters in Hampton Roads hit the streets Friday night. The group, Black Lives Matter 757 is demanding change, after George Floyd's death in police custody in Minneapolis.
Dozens of protesters met at Fort Monroe in Hampton and at Martin Luther King Park in Norfolk at 7:57 p.m. to hold a rally.
"We're showing solidarity throughout America and you know, as black people, we're tired of being oppressed, being mistreated. Treated as second-class citizens when we done so much for this nation," said one Norfolk marcher.
Norfolk Police were also out. Officers were directing traffic allowing protesters to block parts of Brambleton Avenue.
Meanwhile in Hampton, demonstrators blocked Interstate 64, causing the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel to shut down for a time. The roadway has since reopened. Police have also maintained a heavy presence near the Target store and Peninsula Town Center, but no specific incidents have been reported.
“This isn't the first case of 'I can't breathe,' and we feel the police don't care about us. It's open season for black people,” said Black Lives Matter 757 president Aubrey Japharii Jones. “This has got to stop.”
BLM757 has held protests and rallies before in Hampton Roads, and they want to see an end to this type of violence.
“It's not open season on black people in the United States,” Jones said. “We will not tolerate what is going on.”
