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Leonard Fournette and Jaguars Continue To Lead Equal Rights Change in Jacksonville

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette led a protest through downtown Jacksonville on Tuesday morning, citing the death of George Floyd and the need for changes to eradicate racism in America. The day was about so much more than football.
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Protestors began to trickle in around 9:30 a.m. carrying signs that ranged from small cardboard cutouts to posters that required four people across the carry. They milled about in Hemming Park, surrounding the area where less than five hours before city workers had come in before the sun to dismantle a Confederate memorial. Before the day would conclude, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry would promise to take down all Confederate statues that dotted the city.

Protestors began to line Hemming Park in Jacksonville for Fournette led march. Photo credit: Kassidy Hill

Protestors began to line Hemming Park in Jacksonville for Fournette led march. Photo credit: Kassidy Hill

One could assume the day was at least somewhat about football. Among the several hundred that began to line the sidewalks and park in front of the Jacksonville City Hall, many had on Jacksonville Jaguars gear with several even carrying Jags jersey’s to be signed by the players that joined the crowd just before 10 a.m. This was also the second Jaguars associated march organized in five days to protest the death of George Floyd, police brutality and ingrained racism sewn into the fabric of the United States. 

But as Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette took a mic on the steps of City Hall, he turned to the crowd and promised them the day had nothing to do with the sport or team that is embedded in this community.

“This is bigger than me, bigger than football. So we gonna continue praying, coming together, doing what we have to do to have a better generation for our kids, the next generation and black lives matter, lets keep fighting y’all.”

All in all, he spoke less than three minutes before turning the mic over to Curry and Sheriff Mike Williams.

So if the day wasn’t about football, what was it about?

"It’s about equal rights,” offered Fournette.

Photo credit: Kassidy Hill.

Photo credit: Kassidy Hill.

“Understanding our place as young black men because it’s hard being black out here right now. It is tough. I wanna be that voice for people like George Floyd, George Hill, Arthur Sterling, things like that. This is a big step for all of us. I’m happy to see blacks and white’s out here together doing this, this is a wonderful thing. And the biggest thing, I didn’t grow up being a racist or my parents teaching me racism. We gotta stop that shit, that shit bad man.”

Laughter rang out at Fournette’s words, but the jovial mood quickly tuned back into the seriousness that brought everyone there in the first place; George Floyd. His death was the catalyst to dive into the chasm that has fractured the country for centuries without ample examination. And it—not football—is what the day was partly about.

On May 25, Floyd died in the custody of Minneapolis law enforcement officers after police officer Derek Chauvin pinned him down with his knee on the back of his neck. The incident was captured on a video that went viral, showing Floyd repeatedly stating that he couldn't breathe.

Chauvin, who was one of four police officers detaining Floyd at the time, was arrested last Friday and is now charged with second-degree murder. The other officers, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao, have been arrested and charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

Since Floyd's death, there have been protests throughout the United States to push back against police brutality and racial inequality. Leaders in sports have also spoken out against the racial injustice, with Jaguars owner Shad Khan released an op-ed on Wednesday to address Floyd's death, racism, and the need for change.

Thus began the march. From Duval Street, the crowd took a quick turn onto Lara Street. Two blocks down, another right turn onto Adams Street and then six blocks down to Jefferson, before circling back to retrace the steps to City Hall.

It was hot, as June in Florida tends to be, suffocatingly so with a blanket of humidity that threatened to snuff out any but the hardiest of protestors. Yet several hundred still marched along, chanting the names of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor—the latter of whom was a black women and EMT, killed in her apartment on March 13 when Louisville police officers came in with a no-knock warrant looking for drugs related to an ex-boyfriend who was already in custody. Taylor was shot eight times and killed while sleeping. No drugs were found. That’s also what the day was about.

There were 18 Jaguars players and coaches there in all: DJ Chark Jr., Chris Conley, Chris Thompson, Abry Jones, Tyler Davis, Keelan Cole, Leonard Fournette, Ryquell Armstead, Shaq Quarterman, Rodney Gunter, Luq Barcoo, Ronnie Harrison, Myles Jack, Joe Danna, Tim Walton, Ron Middleton, Terry Robiskie and Mark Collins. 

But remember, the day wasn’t about them. As they marched, chanting the names of Floyd and Taylor along with the cries of “No justice, no peace, no racist police” and “this is what democracy looks like,” fans came along to march in stride, leaning over to ask for a picture. Fournette was often flanked by cameras and he’d flash his megawatt smile, then he’d listen to what the person with the camera wanted to say. Which was also what the day was about. He wants to be one of the voices at the table that Curry has asked for from the community.

“You need everybody at the table that can make these decisions,” Curry had said earlier in the day.

“Your voices need to be heard but then decisions need to be made by the people that can make them.

“I’m going to introduce legislation that formally brings together the sheriff’s office, the state attorney’s office, the public defender, city council, my office with independent voices from the community as part of that group that will be heard to help guide those decisions.”

As Fournette listened and gathered information to take to those discussions, Curry walked 10 feet behind him with Jaguars teammate Chris Conley. Both donning the Center for Disease Control requisite mask to help prevent the spread of the global pandemic COVID-19 that is still raging the country. The two talked for blocks. Conley can feasibly be credited with the early morning removal of the Confederate statue from Hemming Park.

Jaguars receiver Chris Conley and Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry talk while participating in Tuesday's march. Photo credit: Kassidy Hill 

Jaguars receiver Chris Conley and Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry talk while participating in Tuesday's march. Photo credit: Kassidy Hill 

On Friday during the team led march—the first NFL to do so—Conley stood on the steps of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and said of that statue and others around the city, "We cannot allow comfortability with revisionist history to disarm our minds and weaken our convictions.

“A confederate monument sits a couple of blocks from here, praising the south’s dark past. Our revisionist history would tell us that it’s there to honor men fighting for states’ rights. But true history would tell us that, in the Cornerstone Address, Alexander Stevens said that our states are built on the fact that the negro is inferior, and slavery and subordination is its normal and natural state. That’s true history."

Related: Column: Jaguars' Chris Conley Left a Long-Term Mark in Jacksonville During Friday's March

That’s also what the day was about. Seeing what could be done when those with a voice simply speak up.

Along with the Jaguars players were those fans with the gear. Two of them produced a rolling cooler and passed out water and biscuits to protesters, police officers and observers. Once the clock rolled past 11 a.m. the two white men were joined by two black men who began passing out take-go boxes of lunch for any that wanted one.

There were also city workers, law enforcement and city representatives marching along. White men in button down Oxford shirts and slacks marched and talked with black men who walked shirtless and in sagging shorts. The laughed and chanted together, talking about what can be done next. One woman led a chain of pre-schoolers, both white and black, as they walked in front of older men and women of all races. One man, white and middle aged, walked five blocks with Sheriff Williams, asking him about previous officers actions and the implementation of body cams. That’s also what the day was about.

The NFL season is on track to start on time and training camp is slated to began soon, in whatever capacity facilities and teams are capable of while stopping the spread of COVID-19. It won’t be as easy for these players and teams to organize marches and protests once that happens. But Fournette, echoing Conley’s message from Friday, vowed to keep the momentum rolling.

“We gotta keep it up. I think something we gotta throughout the season, even when our bodies are aching, just keep it forward…all the players around me, we all have different platforms, we’re from different cities and everybody’s voice counts. I think we’re gonna keep it up.

“I’m Duval man, Duval for life.”

As the players, coaches, fans, city officials and various other protesters began to disperse, some ducked into a coffee shop that sits on the edge of the park. Inside, discussions ranged amongst other patrons around what was referred to as “the Jags thing outside in the park.” The day wasn’t supposed to be about football, but the label couldn’t help but stick. Because for every fan that was willing to listen and learn from their favorite player, there were also the fringe voices. Those grumbled voices that demand these players stick to sports. Or those that sneer in haughty disbelief that a NFL player could dare teach them about social justice. But then there was also acknowledgement—albeit hesitantly—that just outside the window was a spot where a Confederate monument had stood only that morning. There was a promise from the mayor only an hour before that vowed more social reform and greater responsibility held over the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Jaguars players (L-R) Rodney Gunter, Keelan Cole and Ronnie Harrison declare Black lives matter during Tuesday's march. Photo credit: Kassidy Hill 

Jaguars players (L-R) Rodney Gunter, Keelan Cole and Ronnie Harrison declare Black lives matter during Tuesday's march. Photo credit: Kassidy Hill 

Also in that coffee shop were two gentlemen, both African American, one older, one younger. The latter kept up a running commentary of the signs protesters carried as they passed the window where he sat to leave downtown. His friend across the way didn’t say much, only interjecting a soft-spoken opinion here and there, but each word indicating he’d seen a lot in his years, which is why they were slightly wary as to whether any of this would make a difference.

Would it make a difference if it was Jaguars players like Fournette or citizens leading the march? Would it make a difference if there were city representatives marching alongside them? Would it make a difference if there were white and black people and people of all ages? Would any of it make a difference? They weren’t sure yet. But they dared to dream it would. And that’s what the day was about.