Photo by Katie Turpen.
Black Lives Matter Protest
During a Black Lives Matter protest on Dec. 20 at The Summit, Birmingham Police officers ask a protestor lying in the street to move.
On Valentine’s Day, the group Black Lives Matter – Birmingham will be organizing its second Homewood protest and hope to shut down traffic, according to the group’s Facebook page.
A poster for the demonstration says it will be at noon on Saturday, at the intersection of 18th Street South and 29th Street South. The Facebook page’s administrator, who has remained anonymous, described the protest as a “full shutdown.”
Homewood Police Department has released a statement to remind residents that demonstrators have the constitutional right to gather on public property but are prohibited from blocking roadways, sidewalks and entrances to businesses.
Demonstrators can enter and remain on private property only with the permission of the business owner or resident or their designated representative, the release said. HPD will respond to complaints of trespassing on private property as they are reported.
When asked for the reason behind the protest, the page administrator responded with a video from the last protest in Homewood. The peaceful protest was held at the Wildwood Walmart’s parking lot on Dec. 20. In the video, protesters Mercutio Southhall Sr. and Randall Anderson are arrested for refusing to leave the parking lot. Southhall was also tased for resisting arrest.
Southhall appeared at the Homewood Municipal Court on Tuesday, Feb. 10 on charges of criminal trespass, resisting arrest and possession of marijuana.
In addition to the December protest, Black Lives Matter – Birmingham has also demonstrated at Five Points, The Summit and Riverchase Galleria as part of nationwide protests over police involvement in the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Prior to The Summit event, a hoax website appeared calling off the demonstration. However, the original Facebook page responded and the protest continued as planned.
“The opposition will do what opposition does. We will exercise our constitutionally protected human right to protest governmental injustice against the humanity,” the Facebook administrator said Wednesday morning.
