THOMSON, GA (WFXG) Through a smart phone and social media, organizers of a protest in Thomson reached folks in this community that have had enough of police brutality.

"It's too many young black men being judged off the color of their skin and I want to see them live. I want to see them breathe,” said Patrice Belton, who brought her 15-year-old son to Saturday’s event.

A smart phone captured nearly nine minutes of actions which – and after public significant outcry – resulted in criminal charges.

"I was really upset because he's obviously saying that he couldn't breathe and he was struggling and they say that he had health issues, so you know, that wasn't helping the fact that he was being treated the way he was,” said 18-year-old Damon Arnette, a recent graduate from Thomson High School.

People who walked from the Brickyard to the new courthouse on Railroad Street know so much is on the line. It takes courage to be a light in a world darkened by racial inequality.

"Our lives are not for the count of the coroner, they are not for the closing of caskets. They are for light and love. For strength and greatness. And it's going to take you, white brother and you white sister and you black brother and you black sister to join together and say 'no more shall this nonsense be met in our land," shouted Georgia State Educational Specialist, author and Thomson native Cedric Norris Jr. He and several other speakers, including a high school graduate and a teacher, addressed the people on the lawn, sharing their experiences with injustice, their outrage with racism and urging people to make real change.

The Tooombs Judicial Circuit District Attorney attended the rally to see what he can do to make a difference.

"Everybody in the community has concern over the events that have been going on in our nation,” said Toombs Judicial Circuit District Attorney Bill Doupé.

He said there needs to be a very strong hate crime law in the state of Georgia—saying we need it sooner rather than later.

“It’s gotta have some teeth, it’s gotta have some evidentiary rules in it that’ll allow us to get in evidence that we need to prove our case and we need it now. We can’t wait until an event happens and pass a law because it’s too late. You can’t pass a law after the crime has occurred and enact it. So, we need hate crime legislation now and that’s a major push that I’ll be looking into,” he said.

Dozens of people, many wearing face masks to limit the spread of coronavirus, participated, which is one of several demonstrations held in the CSRA this weekend. It's part of multiple protests sparked locally and globally by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. By the end of day, this community is linked together through the lens of activism, in the fight of their lives.


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