Peaceful protests continue in Rogue Valley, this time in Grants Pass

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Protests continuing peacefully in the Rogue Valley over Minnesota man George Floyd’s death.

After days of protests in Ashland, Klamath Falls and Medford. Protesters rallied for civil rights to ensure that no one die unnecessarily at the hands of police, like George Floyd. Protesters gathered at the Josephine County Courthouse, along busy 6th Street.

Some of these protesters are a lot younger than the ones that showed up at the protest in Medford Monday. While some of the protesters may be younger all of them have one thing in common, they say they are fed up with how people of color are treated by the police.

“We can make a change, but it’s on us to make that change,” said Quarnisha Nevarez who lives in Grants Pass with her 5 year-old son.

She’s seen the violence black men have been subjected to by police across the U.S. from Eric Garner to George Floyd.

“It’s not anything new, it’s just becoming more apparent,” said Nevarez.

She says she’s never seen something like she saw in Grants Pass Tuesday.

A younger crowd rising up and taking action. She hopes people can understand where she and so many Black Americans are coming from. But at the same time, she knows that’s not possible.

“The biases and the racism and that feeling that you get. You won’t understand that unless you’re a person of color. How they treat you differently because of how you dress and because of how you look because of the color of your skin,” said Nevarez.

Despite what seemed to be a mostly peaceful protest police stood nearby. Community members also came out to watch, some of them even carrying weapons. They tell NBC5 News they support the protest, they just came out to make sure things didn’t turn into looting or rioting.

© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.

Skip to content