8 minutes and 46 second of silence on a bridge for an unreached birthday

At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, October 14, 38 sign-bearing people set out from Riverton’s Greater Joy Baptist Church parking lot to march to the midway point of the bridge over the South Fork of the Shenandoah River at the northern entrance into the Town of Front Royal, Virginia. Those signs as illustrated in accompanying photos, were of the familial and social roles George Floyd, killed on May 25 while being arrested in Minneapolis, Minnesota on a minor criminal accusation, played in life. October 14 would have been Floyd’s 47^th birthday. It was acknowledged in demonstrations across the nation.

On their way to the bridge’s center the Front Royal Floyd remembrance demonstrators passed a group of 2^nd Amendment advocates gathered near the Riverton 7/11 without incident.

Above, what was described by law enforcement as a ‘2A’ group awaits the Front Royal Unites march to acknowledge what would have been George Floyd’s 47th birthday. Below, the FR Unites group proceeds up East Strasburg Rd. shortly after 5:30 p.m. and turns onto Route 522/340 toward the bridge as they pass the ‘2A’ group in mutual silence. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

They also heard seemingly supportive honks from a few passing vehicles and heard one American and Trump for President flag-bearing pickup truck gun its engine northbound past them, in what did not appear to be a gesture of solidarity.

They also encountered a familiar lone, sign-bearing counter-protester on the bridge, again without incident other than that person following their march along the bridge’s northbound traffic side walkway. That counter-protester’s sign focused on Floyd’s run-ins with the law, none of which carried a death penalty.

‘Close Encounters of the Kushner kind’ – event organizer Samuel Porter with megaphone directs demonstrators peacefully by denier of institutionalized American racism Gary Kushner, who met, then followed the George Floyd mourners with his own messages.

Once at their bridge midpoint destination as 6 p.m. approached they stood silent for 8-minutes-and-46-seconds to honor a 47^th birthday that did not come for George Floyd, the man killed by a Minneapolis policeman’s knee to his throat for 8-minutes-and-46 seconds as he was being arrested on May 25 for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 dollar bill at a convenience store purchase.

The cellphone video of Floyd’s death, murder or modern-day lynching some have called it, as he begged for his life launched a national wave of protests over, not only Floyd’s, but a number of other by all accounts unnecessary deaths by police officers of people of color across the United States of America over the past year-plus.

Passing pickup truck with American and Trump flags flying, guns its engines as it passes the Floyd mourners.

The Front Royal acknowledgement of George Floyd’s unrealized birthday was organized by Front Royal Unites. Units of the Warren County Sheriff’s Office blocked the outer northbound and southbound lanes from traffic as a safety precaution, although it appeared the southbound lane was opened after it became apparent the involved numbers of Floyd mourners would not require the use of walkways on both sides of the bridge. Rush hour traffic did not appear to be impeded by the march or lane closures.

That Wednesday’s local portion of a national acknowledgement of Floyd’s unrealized birthday did not imply a criticism of local law enforcement’s relationship to all aspects of this community, seemed indicated by Front Royal Unites principal Samuel Porter’s megaphoned thank you to the Sheriff’s Office and nearby support-stationed Town Police units for their cooperation in facilitating Wednesday’s, as well as previous events.

Having reached the bridge’s midpoint, demonstrators pause prior to their 8-minute-46 seconds of silence in memory of George Floyd’s life. Two of several Sheriff’s Office vehicles blocking the easternmost northbound lane for safety reasons are visible looking south and north in the two photos.

However, questions about Front Royal Unites current leadership’s relationship to all aspects of this community were raised by Norma Jean Shaw’s George Floyd birthday event preview report. Shaw noted Front Royal Unites’ under Porter’s leadership’s initial request was that authorities shut down the South Fork Bridge to all traffic during the Wednesday evening rush hour to facilitate the demonstration.

As Shaw reported, the controlling governmental entity, VDOT (the Virginia Department of Transportation) declined that request to disrupt the traffic flow into and out of Front Royal’s northside for a Wednesday rush hour tribute to Floyd. However, county authorities worked to allow the First Amendment expression of free speech on the equal justice under the law demonstration to occur at the requested site without a major disruption of traffic or safety hazard to the 38 demonstrators, 39 counting the counter-demonstrator on the bridge.

Former FR Unites founding member and first president Stevi Hubbard left the organization in the weeks after its second June public march “For Justice” – the first march was June 5 “Against Racism” drawing an estimated 1500 people to the Bing Crosby Stadium starting and finishing point. The second, June 20 “March for Justice” from Skyline Middle School (the old WCHS massive resistance to desegregation site) to the Gazebo drew about 125 people. Hubbard has declined to comment publicly on the reasons for her departure from the organization.

One demonstrator, closest to camera, sported a ‘V-For Vendetta’ mask acknowledging the British movie’s portrayal of opponents of a futuristic totalitarian state.

Porter, megaphone in hand in the closed bike lane, marks the end of the 8:46-minute silence, observing ‘8-minutes-and-46-seconds is a long time’, if not to remember, certainly to have one’s breathing impaired by an unnecessary knee to the neck.