Even with the threat of rain a significant number of community members gathered together and marched through downtown Princeton Thursday as part of the “I Can’t Breathe” Movement.
Organizer Jeneen Riley inspired the crowd by explaining her reason for standing up against adversity.
Caldwell County Middle School Art Teacher Miranda Meeks, who was set up on the Butler campus parking lot with a face painting station, offered her art as a way for children to express themselves.
Kimberly Patton, owner of Little Bee Photography, is hoping to bring awareness of social injustice through a photography project inspired by the “I Can’t Breathe” and Black Lives Matter movements.
The subjects in Patton’s work, which can be found on social media, stand somberly, pieces of tape with “I Can’t Breathe” written across them, covering their mouths.
Those gathered Thursday, which consisted of all ages, marched from the Butler campus to the courthouse square and back carrying signs and chanting “no justice, no peace.” The only police presence was a lone Princeton Police Officer who followed along to block traffic as the group marched through intersections downtown. The movements have seen a recent national resurgence due to the deaths of George Floyd and Louisville resident, Breonna Taylor, who were both killed due to excessive police force.