ALLENTOWN, Pa. - When George Floyd was murdered last year, protesters took to Allentown streets. BLM leader Justan Parker Fields became the voice of the valley’s Black and brown communities demanding changes to policing and policies.
Nearly 11 months later he speaks in the same spot.
“When we heard the guilty verdict a lot of us were shocked we were expecting not guilty because that is what we’ve always expected, that’s what we’ve always seen, that's what we’ve always heard,” Fields says.
Fields, who is now running for Allentown City Council, came out to observe with Jessica Ortiz of the community resource group the Ortiz Ark Foundation.
“I kind of didn’t believe it at first, but when I saw them in the cuffs that’s the moment normally when we break when they take our loved ones. So I think that’s kind of when I lost it, like ok, it’s real,” Ortiz says.
The verdict is a small step toward holding police accountable for their actions, Ortiz says.
“It’s small stones, cobblestones, whether it’s a grain. A difference is a difference and I think this taught people putting the pressure on is going to make change,” Ortiz says.
