Why I Protest: Leon Boyd Jr. On Going Beyond Keyboard Activism

Leon Boyd Jr. almost didn’t go to the march downtown on Saturday, organized to protest the killing of George Floyd by former Minneapolis Police officer Derrick Chauvin. But the 35-year-old changed his mind when he saw a photo on Facebook, posted as the protest was just beginning at Willard Park around 1:30 p.m. The shot showed an elderly woman with a cane, accompanied by her grandchildren, walking down Lakeside Road to join the protest. “I thought ‘I can’t just be a keyboard activist,’” Boyd says. “I have to be part of the solution.” Present for about five hours on Saturday, Boyd returned on Sunday morning to join the cleanup crew downtown, where he works booking events at local nightclubs. He shares his experiences here.

I think I got there around 3:15 p.m. At the Free Stamp, I listened to a few people speak and tell their stories. It was peaceful. People on bullhorns, voicing their opinions, their frustrations. A lot of things that are going on in America, you can feel like you don’t understand how these things are happening and think Maybe it’s just me. 

At the protest, you realize there’s a lot of people that feel the same way. And then that crowd began moving down to the Justice Center. 

There was one guy on a bullhorn who I listened to for a while. There was a young lady playing the drum and people dancing around her in a circle. Different people joined in and were dancing and chanting freedom speeches. It was just so positive to be around.

But then the police started setting off what I think was tear gas and rubber bullets. If they just stood their ground, didn’t shoot — I feel like they weren’t trained to deal with this sort of situation, and they were not prepared. It didn’t have to escalate to that point. But I think they were scared more than anything. They just wanted to make everybody move. It was like panic on both sides.

Some kids on skateboards had bricks and they were throwing them at two cop cars, and then set them on fire. That was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t understand why these kids started throwing bricks and breaking the windows. I went there for a peaceful protest and to be accounted for. But those kids just came with rage. Maybe there were some people with ulterior motives to cause that panic, but the majority of the people just wanted to be heard. 

I decided to walk away. It just didn’t feel safe. 

The thing I really don’t understand is people out here destroying African American-owned businesses. We’re protesting, saying “Black Lives Matter” and protesting things against the African American community. Destroying those businesses just doesn’t make sense to me.

The next day, I came back downtown to try to be part of the solution, not the problem. I went to try to help clean up. And it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen. 

Every business I went to volunteer to clean, they already had hundreds of people helping. There were groups of high schoolers in matching T-shirts, there were lots of Cleveland Public Schools organizations there. I left with a great feeling like it might have been torn down, but we’re going to rebuild. All we’ve ever had is each other. If we can come together, we can rebuild, and we can fix these problems.

The police need to step up. We need the police to say “We’re going to march with you. We’re going to block the streets off.” We need the mayor to put on his tennis shoes and stand with us. We need to see them involved, because this city has always been divided. This is a perfect time to show unity.