COLUMBUS – Politicians, religious leaders and community activists in Columbus are calling for protests to remain peaceful as a verdict nears in the trial in the death of George Floyd.
Bishop Timothy Clarke, who leads the First Church of God in Columbus, also oversaw the funerals of Casey Goodson Jr. and Andre Hill, Black men killed by white officers in December.
At a Monday news conference he implored people to carry out protests peacefully “and to do it knowing that all of us are fighting for justice, and we are demanding justice,” he said as he joined Mayor Andrew Ginther, Columbus City Council president Shannon Hardin and others.
“Violence and destruction of property is not the solution to police reform and discrimination,” Ginther said. “Raise your voices for justice, demand change and reform, but not your hands in violence.”
The call for calm also comes as Columbus is experiencing a record spike in gun violence and is reeling from the shooting of a man by officers at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s hospital in Westerville last week.
Ginther and Clarke were also joined by Franklin County Commission president Kevin Boyce; Kiara Yakita of the Black Liberation Movement, leaders of the Urban League and the NAACP, Rabbi Sharon Mars of Temple Israel, and leaders of the Somali and Muslim communities