Brooke LaValley, Photo Editor blavalley@gannett.com
Juneteenth: A celebration amid pain
On June 19, demonstrators blocked off High Street between Broad and State streets Downtown, as they had done during daily protests over George Floyd s killing in Minneapolis, but this day was a celebration. A DJ set up on the Statehouse grounds and people were dancing. Someone even was grilling burgers and hot dogs, and giving them away during a Juneteenth celebration.
Later in the evening, people were setting off fireworks in the middle of the street and it seemed as if they were bouncing off the buildings. I had stayed past the end of my shift because it was hard to pull myself away, and it was special to see the same people I had encountered for weeks during the protests who were angry, sad, frustrated now having a moment of joy and community.