Protesters gathered Friday afternoon to demonstrate in memory of Tony Robinson, who was fatally shot by Madison Police Department Officer Matt Kenny roughly one year ago.
Around 100 protesters assembled on Library Mall and marched up State Street toward the Capitol, stopping at each busy intersection for moments of silence and spirited chants.
Before beginning the march, participants listened to speeches from key figures in Madison’s Young, Gifted and Black Coalition and the UW Blackout Movement.
Eric Upchurch of @YGBCoalition calls for "all power to the people" #TonyRobinson @badgerherald pic.twitter.com/py1XHnpiop
— Hayley ✨ (@hksperl) March 4, 2016
Tony Robinson’s death: a portrait of a life ended, a life halted, a community united
“We are dark; we are melanin,” Kenneth Cole, an organizer from UW Blackout, told the crowd. “But we are strong. We’re here to show those who think they can shoot us down because of our melanin that they’re wrong.”
Demonstrators marched up State Street chanting, “Who did they kill? Tony Robinson,” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, these killer cops have got to go,” among other refrains.
Protesters: "no justice, no peace" #tonyrobinson #madison @BadgerHerald pic.twitter.com/8nOMdSUz4M
— Hayley ✨ (@hksperl) March 4, 2016
Protestors observe a moment of silence for Tony Robinson. #marchingforth #tonyrobinson @BadgerHerald pic.twitter.com/bCu1iBn12e
— Matthew Shelver (@mshelver97) March 4, 2016
Traffic congestion ensued at each intersection, and long lines of buses formed on State Street while protesters blocked traffic. MPD officers went from bus to bus briefing drivers on the situation and formed a perimeter between the demonstrators and motorists.
Line of buses forms on State as protest blocks street #marchingforth #tonyrobinson @BadgerHerald pic.twitter.com/3rnBcXDWmj
— Matthew Shelver (@mshelver97) March 4, 2016
.@madisonpolice officers stand between protesters and (unhappy) traffic #tonyrobinson #madison @BadgerHerald pic.twitter.com/bkqmVCrnnO
— Hayley ✨ (@hksperl) March 4, 2016
The march culminated in a brief occupation of the Overture Center. Protesters chanted and sang in the performing arts center’s central atrium before hearing speeches.
"Somebody else is going to die and it might be you" – Eric Upchurch advocating for community control over police pic.twitter.com/ITIMe9C5Zd
— Hayley ✨ (@hksperl) March 5, 2016
Explaining the reason for ending the march at the Overture Center, Brandi Grayson, a YGB Coalition co-founder, said the building is symbolic of the city’s “skewed” priorities.
“We refuse to invest in people, but we invest in buildings — we invest in prisons, we invest in performing arts centers,” she said. “The Overture Center is very symbolic of what our priorities are as a community.”
Protesters raised their fists and chanted the word “power” one last time before dispersing shortly after 6 p.m.
Grayson later said the primary goal of the march was to remind the community that Robinson will never be forgotten.
“What we want people to know is that we will not forget Tony Robinson,” Grayson said. “We will not forget the day that his life was taken by a Madison police officer. We will not go silent in the night and we will not accept their justification of legality. We know based on the private investigation and all sorts of other information that he was murdered, and we will not let people forget that.”
