QUINCY, Fl. (WTXL) — Quincy, Florida was the site of one of thousands of marches across the country for black lives, on Saturday. Alongside protesters, was Quincy Police Chief Glenn Sapp.
"We're trying to move beyond color," said the chief. "I'm the police chief for everyone, white, black, brown, yellow, or red. I'm not the police chief just for black people, I'm not the police chief for just white people, I am the chief. I represent law enforcement justice for everyone."
Protesters started at James A. Shanks Middle School and made their way several blocks before stopping at the courthouse.
The march's organizer, Eddie L. McMillian, Jr. said, "It's not about this race or this race. It's time for us as a country to come together and not be divided."
McMillian Jr. said he wants the town of Quincy to be the standard of how protests should be. "We as a people, we are about peace even though we've gone through so much tragedy and suffering in this country, but we still remain peaceful," explained McMillian Jr. "It's been portrayed about us that we're violent, we're rioters, we're looters, we're even savages. And I just want to show the whole world that we have been raised the right way in Gadsden County, I want to show the whole world that we are not who they say we are."
Chief Sapp said protesters walked through the Burmah Heights community, which is a historically white neighborhood. "It's a historically affluent neighborhood in Quincy," explained the chief. "We did it peacefully, and we had many, many white residents of that neighborhood who came out, gave me water, gave cold water to all of the protesters."
Chief Sapp added while they are seeking justice and peace, they are also working to overcome the past. "We're trying to overcome a very emotional past but we have to always remember the past is just that, it is the past. Let's focus on the future."
