Calm after storm: Pittsburgh vigil promotes unity; protesters spray paint Downtown roads but remain peaceful

A day after protests turned violent in Pittsburgh, groups gathered peacefully in Downtown and East Liberty to remember the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

More than 100 people congregated for an early-evening vigil outside the Eastminster Presbyterian Church in East Liberty. The message was of unity.

At one point, the crowd raised their hands as the Rev. Paul Roberts, senior pastor at Eastminster, led them in prayer for Floyd’s family. It’s time for the church to stand up and say “no more,” he said. “Confession is not good enough.”

More than a dozen people addressed the crowd before the vigil ended in time for the city’s 8:30 p.m. curfew to take effect.

The organizers, Beth Crawford of the You Are Covered Project and Jonathan Cordle of Crossroads Church in East Liberty, began planning the vigil Friday morning. It began as a few text messages among leaders of different churches in the neighborhood, they said. But by Sunday morning, more than a thousand people had marked their interest on the event’s Facebook page.

The Rev. Nicole Porter, head of staff and minister of music at Eastminster Presbyterian, sings for the crowd. pic.twitter.com/SxBkq8JImE

— Teghan Simonton (@teghan_simonton) May 31, 2020

The vigil was planned for May 31 intentionally, the organizers said, because of the significance of Pentecost Sunday. The Christian holiday celebrates the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the followers of Jesus and is considered, Cordle said, “the birthday of the church.”

“This is a mark of Christianity and the Gospel, that people of different races and ethnicities live together, united in Jesus,” he said.

Several churches participated, including Eastminster Presbyterian, Pentecostal Temple, Kingdom Culture Ministries and others. Speakers from numerous congregations gave messages of hope and encouragement. Most also commanded white Christians to confront their privilege and “stand up” to demand racial justice.

“No more being comfortable,” said the Rev. Cornell Jones, director of crime prevention in Pittsburgh.

The Rev. Randy Bush of East Liberty Presbyterian Church pleaded with the group to no longer be silent and to offer a “light of hope.” He said racism would continue to exist until society recognizes longstanding income and education disparities that happen in communities of color.

“We are here today because we have some level of privilege,” Bush said.

Crawford said she hopes the vigil brought peace and comfort.

“I think sometimes people need to cry out and grieve in a safe place,” she said. “It’s OK if you want to cry, it’s OK if you feel anger, but there is a way that we can feel anger in a peaceful manner.”

Mayor Bill Peduto attended and addressed the media. He told reporters the violence that occurred Saturday was not sparked by the protest’s original organizers. There was very little police presence until after a police car was torched outside PPG Arena, he said.

Peduto related the image of garbage strewn about the streets of Downtown, flower pots overturned and flowers ripped out, graffiti and damage across at least 71 businesses. He asked the attendees of the vigil to pray for Pittsburgh.

He also evoked the memory of Jonny Gammage, a black man who died in the custody of Pittsburgh police in 1995. Though his death did not garner national attention, Peduto said Gammage’s case brought about change in law enforcment throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania.

“We have to utilize this moment for good,” he said. “We — and I’m talking to white people — have to stand up for our neighbors and our brothers and sisters who have been the object of discrimination forever in this country’s history.”

In Downtown, a seemingly disjointed group of protesters met in Market Square at about 3 p.m.

Natausha Pettis, of Plum brought her son, Terrel, 10, to participate. She said she wanted to use the protest as a teaching moment.

“As long as you remain peaceful, you can do it,” she said of protesting. She said the violence that happened Saturday, when protesters torched two police vehicles and others were injured, was unacceptable and illegal.

The small group Sunday grew to around 100 when it began to march from Market Square to Grant Street near the City-County Building around 4:30 p.m. They blocked off the roadway, at times kneeling in the middle of the road, and spray painted the brick pavement. Some of the messages said “I Can’t Breathe,” and slurs directed at law enforcement.

#pittsburghprotest pic.twitter.com/WtAYADEuGy

— Dillon Garrett Carr (@dillonswriting) May 31, 2020

One man, Travis Tierney, 36, of the North Hills used cleaning supplies to scrub off some paint on Grant Street.

“I’m just tired of it, man,” he said. “Businesses, the very ones we want to reopen, can’t now. They’re trying to reopen, but they can’t because they got destroyed. It’s just stupid.”

Pittsburgh police and the Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies outnumbered the protesters. Many, donned in riot gear, formed a barrier around the Allegheny County Courthouse. Officers remained stoic, even when some protesters urged them to shake hands. One officer, however, was seen giving a protester a fist bump.

Later, at around 5:30 p.m., the group marched down Grant Street, circled around the Federal Building and headed along Liberty Avenue. They chanted the entire length: “No justice, no peace,” “Antwon Rose,” and “George Floyd.”

Circled around federal building, headed down Liberty Ave now. #pittsburghprotest pic.twitter.com/GlibasPSwB

— Dillon Garrett Carr (@dillonswriting) May 31, 2020

By 6:30 p.m., the group reassembled at Grant Street and Fifth Avenue for a time, where protesters again began painting the intersection and confronted police officers.

Zachary Weir, 22, of Bridgeville said he came to the protest Sunday hoping it would be peaceful. He did not participate in spray painting the roads.

“There’s protesting, and there’s destruction. Huge difference. Huge difference. Right here, right now, this is a protest,” he said, taking a drag on his cigarette. In the moment, other protesters gathered at the intersection of Grant Street and Fifth Avenue to chant againts police brutality, have moments of silence with raised fists and confront police officers.

By 7:30 p.m., the group marched back to Market Square, where it largely dispersed.

Back at Grant and Fifth. Police are still here. #pittsburghprotest pic.twitter.com/LaOq5e1GXH

— Dillon Garrett Carr (@dillonswriting) May 31, 2020

Another smaller group began to march down Grant Street at about 8 p.m. The group chanted while they marched along Liberty Avenue, confronting police officers along the way.

#pittsburghprotest pic.twitter.com/h1C1eQS2MJ

— Dillon Garrett Carr (@dillonswriting) May 31, 2020

Eventually, the group decreased down to around 25 people, when curfew arrived at 8:30 p.m. A city police officer warned the group twice to disperse before they complied. No arrests were made.

Dillon Carr and Teghan Simonton are Tribune-Review staff writers. You can reach Dillon at dcarr@triblive.com, and you can reach Teghan at tsimonton@tribweb.com.