Lang
6/28/20
Protesters in Coralville learned an important lesson about strength in numbers on Saturday.
According to the Press-Citizen, about 30 Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at S.T. Morrison Park around noon Saturday with the goal of marching down 5th Street to Highway 6, blocking traffic while touting their cause.
The group managed to shut down 5th Street as they marched, but once they got to the Coralville Strip they didn’t have the numbers to fully stop traffic. The group concentrated their efforts on the two eastbound lanes, but cars just used the middle turn lane to go around or swerve between them. Protesters reported being greeted by middle fingers, horns and expletives.
One protester reported getting hit by a car, but was not injured. 27-year-old Desean Holman told the Press-Citizen that he was marching towards the back of the group as they moved westbound on Highway 6 towards the regroup spot at Morrison Park. A blue car approached from behind, and Holman says he moved in front of it to make sure it slowed down or stopped. It didn’t, and the car pushed Holman forward.
Holman says he then jumped onto the vehicle. Holman claims the driver tried to throw him off by accelerating and stopping short. He told the newspaper, “They threw me off the car, but I landed on my feet because I’m a G.”
The protest was much smaller than earlier protests that saw hundreds of people gather on the Pentacrest before moving through parts of Iowa City and Coralville, stopping traffic along their routes.
