The Other Faces of the George Floyd Protests

My experience during the LA Riots resurfaced as protests over George Floyd’s murder swept the country. I titled this series The Other Faces because, as I looked out my window in Brooklyn, I saw thousands of people peacefully passing by. While headlines in the New York Times called the protests mostly peaceful, the publication ran photos of the mostly violent, perverting their own coverage and what those of us on the ground were all too obviously seeing.

Rather than chase the news, I chose to listen to those protesting to understand their perspectives beyond the dismissive “Woke” label pinned on them—an attempt to trivialize their message and reduce their ideas to something they were not. I sought the more subtle moments. At the end of each day, I wrote a diary entry reflecting on the events, capturing what I had seen and heard.

The Other Faces of The George Floyd Protests, June 2, 2020

Over the past couple of days dear friends have called me asking me what it’s like in New York City. Are the protests peaceful they ask? It seems that they are, they say, but are they? Judging from what’s seen on tv it only looks as if the world is on fire. There is indeed a lot of fire and cruelty spread by the United States 45th president, but there is a lot more strength and positivity amongst those in the streets that will eventually lead us out of this national nightmare.

If our publications only show the chaos and violence, mostly of young men of color, turning over police cars then that just feeds into the stereotypes of them and gives readers the impression that that’s all there is to these protests. Yet there are millions more who have ideas, are constructive and their voices and ideas need to be heard as prominently as the violence is covered.

The Other Faces of The George Floyd Protests, June 3, 2020

After the daily evening rally (and, on this evening, prayer session) at Barclays the crowd marched off just before the 8PM curfew shouting, “Fuck your curfew,” and headed to downtown Brooklyn where clashes between the protesters and police would ensue. I decided to stay at Barclays. I was interested in those who remained.

In the Barclays plaza, which has become somewhat of a town square now, I found some remarkable moments. The moments I witnessed were remarkable not because there was blood or fire or tear gas (those moments, as almost solely focused on by our media outlets, have become all too common and I do not believe are representative of what these protests are truly about), but because there was a there was an attempt by those who remained to probe and understand the other.

Remaining in the plaza were a handful of young people who were talking with the assorted police. The crowds gone, everyone somewhat let their guard down. The discussions were intense, at turns accusatory and pleading, but the remarkable part was that there were prolonged moments when both protester and police officer listened to one another.

Looking at the policewoman and men, I wondered if they saw in the protesters the children they might go home to after the long day. The protesters, in turn, said that, if these officers had children, they would be in the streets advocating for them if they were ever harmed. The discussion vacillated between the attempt to co-opt support to accusation of institutional racism. No doubt there was a blue line between the protesters and the entrenched power amongst the police, but beneath the positioning I felt a glimmer of hope not in the words that were spoken, but in the words that weren’t—when the other side was listening.

In all, the dialogue and listening lasted for about 20 minutes, then everyone went along their way. Due to NYPD protocol, those in uniform could not address many of the questions and statements the protesters made. I had the feeling that had they been able to speak as individuals and not people beholden to uniform a lot more understanding could have been had in that moment. I am not saying that the two sides would have agreed, but at the very least a more significant dialogue could have been achieved.

The Other Faces of The George Floyd Protests, June 4, 2020

What I saw last night goes to the heart of the problem with what is so wrong with the United States of America. In a passive crowd the police rushed in and aggressively attacked a black man, dragging him through the crowd and shoving him into a black unmarked police vehicle that was much too small for this man’s large build. There was terror in his eyes as he was roughly shoved into the vehicle. As they pushed him down, he shouted to the crowd to remember his name. The last moment I saw of him he was in pain as they applied their pressure techniques to drag him down.

After the NYC security force vehicle drove away, the following moments were tense. The officers had a wild raging bull look in their eyes. Like a bull who wants to attack whatever it sees some brandished their clubs and threatened a livery cab passing by. Every object near them seemed to be the equivalent of a crimson cape. In those tense moments the whole protest could have lit up and one more provocation would have ended in violence and many more arrests. It was only diffused when the protesters took a moment of silence. As for the man arrested himself, what did he do? I saw some officers holding a hockey stick near the vehicle he was shoved into, which I assumed was related to the perceived offence. If, indeed that’s all it was, couldn’t this incident have been dealt with in a different way through reasonable communication?

Institutionally, this is a nation of America First, and it is a nation of, “you are with us or you are against us,” it is “all options are on the table and we will respond at a date and time of our choosing.” And that mentality trickles down into the fabric of our nation to the point where a peaceful giant of a man is choked to death under the knee of an officer as three others look on. The murderous knee was what physically murdered Mr. Floyd, but the surrounding officer’s apathy was equally egregious. Do nothing, stand aside apathy kills as well. Do nothing stand aside apathy is what currently defines this nation’s domestic and foreign policy. Until that changes the murders, like the forceful arrest last night where police forces acted with continued impunity in Grand Army Plaza will continue.

The events in Grand Army Plaza represented the worst part of police in America. What transpired on the streets this weekend represented the best of this nation and also of the police department where protesters and police spoke and tried to at least find some starting point of common ground. It felt like a turning point in history. The critical mass here is in solidarity. The 45th president has attempted to eviscerate this nation’s democracy and cohesion. With the internal threat to this nation’s very existence people have never been more together and concerned for each other and the principals on which this nation was founded. My neighborhood, Prospect Heights, is at the crossroads of the movement. With the Barclays Center 5 minutes from my home and Grand Army Plaza a moment’s walk away Brooklyn neighborhoods converge where the young and old, every ethnic, gender and economic group converge. All are saying “Enough!” It feels that we have reached the critical mass needed to move forward out of this time of ignorance and cruelty brought upon us by this president and his party.

After the choking murder of Mr. Floyd, we know what needs to be ended. But there is also ferment about what has to happen moving forward. How is it that the wealthiest nation in the world cannot afford pencils for teachers, cannot manage to get the most basic masks to nurses and doctors risking their lives to keep us healthy? The answer is simple: those in power simply don’t care as evidenced by their actions. The overt pursuit of profit is all that does matter and anyone else who does not grab for that wealth is left out. These protests are also about ending that and having the billions that are spent on the military and gained in the stock market to flow back into our communities and our civil instructions. After what’s the point of having a great military if the country its protecting can’t educate its children, can’t keep its populace healthy and sees its institutions and infrastructure crumble?

The Other Faces of The George Floyd Protests, June 7, 2020

This is a short film I made in Grand Army Plaza on June 7, 2020. On June 7th it felt like a dam had broken.The days leading up to the 7th were tense. Just a week before police cars burnt in the neighborhood next to mine and much of the country saw the same. However, in the course of that week a solidarity throughout society was building. Surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement were people of every ethnic group, every income group, every gender. So many in America were saying that the violence against people of color must stop. As the peaceful movement built throughout the week the presence of police lessened. The confluence of so many groups and their sheer numbers said that this is too big to stop and the protests can no longer be bullied. On Sunday there was a sense of completion for the moment—protest gave way to art and music and there was a sense amongst people that, after protesting in support for a man who could not breathe, a collective breath could be taken.

The art, music and movement in Grand Army Plaza were expressive of the life returning and I hope provide a kind of spiritual roadmap moving forward of how life should be and what we should strive for as we depart the age of apathy and enter into one of empathy, understanding and deeper listening.


All content © Jake Price 2025