Friday night protest in downtown Wilmington
By Anna Phillips | June 5, 2020 at 11:10 PM EDT – Updated June 6 at 3:46 PM
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – The seventh night of protests on the steps of City Hall again ended peacefully before the city’s curfew took effect at 9 p.m.
The crowd was noticeably smaller than Thursday night; however, several hundred people continued the marches through downtown Wilmington holding signs and chanting.
Organizers have made it a point to clean up throughout the afternoon and particularly at the end of the night.
“We don’t want to leave a footprint. The earth is our home; Wilmington is our home. We’re gonna leave it the same way as when we got here. We have a really good crowd out here; they’re loyal to the cause and loyal to each other. And I know if we don’t do things the right way, we may not have the opportunities to have our voices heard. So, we’re gonna step in and make sure we do things right,” said Jane Jacobs.
Many businesses boarded up glass windows and doors going into the weekend.
Guys Do Nails owner Dynh Lee says business has suffered as some people are concerned about coming downtown.
“The fear, the fear of the riots and what not, the protests are great. I mean, I would march right there with them but then you have the fear of everything else that’s going on,” Lee said.
Protesters plan to be back out by 7 a.m. Saturday.
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