Front Royal Unites draws over 1,000 for anti-racism rally

While there was yet to be an official crowd size estimate, it appeared that well over one thousand, perhaps between 1200 and 1500 people gathered at Bing Crosby Stadium off a flooded Eighth Street Bridge for the Front Royal Unites rally against racism early Friday evening, June 5th.

Oops, looks like I can’t get in this way – a huge crowd of demonstrators against racism and for unity across social and racial boundaries gathered at Bing Crosby Stadium early Friday evening, June 5. Royal Examiner Stills/Roger Bianchini – Royal Examiner Video/Mike McCool

Several organizers spoke to kick off what was planned as about an eight-block circular path march through Front Royal beginning westbound on Eighth Street to North Royal Avenue, left to Sixth Street, left on Commerce and back to Eighth and Bing Crosby Stadium. But with the heavy rains that began mid-afternoon suddenly flooding the bridge, the march detoured southbound on Crosby Road out of the stadium parking lot to Sixth Street and across Commerce to North Royal and back around to Eighth Street and ultimately back to the Stadium for closing speeches.

And while the rain was hard in the hours leading up to the rally, the skies lightened and the rain stopped about a half-hour prior to the rally’s 6:30 p.m. start.

The Front Royal Unites rally grew out of the nationwide reaction to the brutal and unprovoked videotaped treatment of George Floyd at the hands of four Minneapolis, Minnesota policemen in what some are equating to a modern-day lynching. All four officers were immediately fired upon release of a videotape of their collective action leading to Floyd’s death.

The message of Front Royal Unites was consistent – and the bottom sign-holder’s hand is covering the apostrophe-T of “can’t” in that insightful observation …

Derek Chauvin, the white officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as the black man plead for his life, saying he could not breathe and was dying, has been charged with 2nd Degree Murder and the other three have been charged with complicity in 2nd Degree murder and related manslaughter charges.

And while violence has been an issue from both demonstrator and police at some consequent demonstrations across the country, the Front Royal crowd was peaceful, the message was “Love, Love, Love – not hate”.  As the march began a spirit of unity seemed prevalent between demonstrators and a combined local law enforcement presence of Front Royal Police and Warren County Sheriff’s Office personnel as both crowd and traffic control, as well as supporters of the message of community unity across racial and uniformed/non-uniformed boundaries.

The message of the march on the back of a kickoff speaker’s shirt – and the marchers remained peaceful, and focused on the message of a march against racism and for community unity.

A report from one person who participated in the entirety of the march told us the crowd remained peaceful, encountering some minor verbal harassment from a very small minority of onlookers along the way. Some pickup trucks sporting Confederate flags were also observed at some distance from the marchers, but there was no encounter between occupants and marchers observed.

See for yourself the message, the march’s outset, and conclusion in this exclusive Royal Examiner video and accompanying still photographs:

Front Royal Unites plans peaceful June 5 equality march