Looking Forward: Mayor Woodfin on the meaning of the George Floyd protests and the quest for justice

Businesses were just starting to reopen from the coronavirus pandemic in late May when another crisis hit the Birmingham area. George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis sparked protests across the country, and on Thursday, May 28, and Saturday, May 30, Birmingham saw its first George Floyd protests.

Both events were held at Kelly Ingram Park, and both were peaceful.

This was followed on Sunday, May 31, by another peaceful march and protest downtown.

However, emotions began to rise later in the evening after a gathering at the Confederate monument at Linn Park.

On Sunday night, some protesters broke the windows of businesses across the northside of downtown, such as the Alabama and Lyric theaters, Wheelhouse Salon, ShuShop and more.

“We were closed for two months because of coronavirus, and that was devastating,” Wheelhouse owner Johnny Grimes said. “We didn’t know if we were going to make it. ... Then we get open, and this happens.”

For Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, it’s like there are three crises going on at the same time, he said. He compared it to having the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression and the 1968 Civil Rights riots all in one.

“How do you balance that?” he told Iron City Ink on June 11. “We’ve been in crisis mode since March.”

There are three things that one must do while in crisis mode, he said. Be decisive. Over communicate. Be candid.

Even as the downtown protest at Linn Park on May 31 strayed from its peaceful demeanor, Woodfin was there with the participants and pleading for them to avoid violence. This is in sharp contrast to the way Birmingham civil rights protesters were treated in the ‘60s, when the police sicced dogs on them and the fire department sprayed them with fire hoses.

“People saw me walking to the middle of protesters and thought, ‘Hey, what’s the mayor thinking?’” Woodfin said. “But I think there are opportunities in our positions as mayors to meet people where they are, see what you can do about it.”

When the protesters began trying to tear down a Linn Park monument dedicated to Confederate soldiers and sailors, Woodfin once again met protesters in the middle. Give me until Tuesday, he told them on that Sunday night, and we’ll tear it down for you. As promised, the monument was gone on Tuesday, and now the city might have to pay a $25,000 fine to the state for violating the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act.

To understand why he was willing to remove the monument, Woodfin said it’s important first to talk about Floyd’s death.

“Is this a moment of time that’s brief, or is this a game changer in the sense of really seeking justice and calling out unarmed black men being killed?” he said.

People are used to unarmed black men being killed with guns, Woodfin said. But people aren’t used to watching a video of an unarmed black man dying as a police officer puts his body weight on his neck, he said.

“We physically saw that,” Woodfin said. “It hurt. It’s painful. You hear this man calling out for his mom, but you realize his mom died before him, so it makes it even more painful. It makes you extremely angry, and it makes you upset. It shakes out your conscience and pulls out your heart in such a way where you demand justice.”

The protesters weren’t just demanding justice in the form of police reform, he said. They were demanding justice in the tangible things that exist, where oppression or systematic racism is presented. The monument in Linn Park is one example.

His initial response to the protesters’ efforts to remove the monument was that he didn’t want anyone to get hurt and that their actions were unlawful, Woodfin said.

“But the bigger picture was, ‘You know what? If you’re listening to their outcry, not only should I sympathize and empathize, I’m in a position to do something about it, even if there are consequences,’” he said.

“I would prefer to pay a civil fine than have more continued civil unrest in our city.”

TAKING FURTHER ACTION

June 10, the day after Floyd’s body was buried in Houston, Woodfin held a press conference and made another promise to the public. Over the next month, there would be an internal review led by the mayor’s office in accordance with the 8 Can’t Wait framework, which is a national campaign to bring immediate reform to police departments in the wake of Floyd’s death. At the end of that 30-day period, Woodfin said he will issue an executive order in hopes of closing any gaps between the office and 8 Can’t Wait.

His office will also name a Community Safety Task Force in July that will do a 90-day “deeper dive” into Birmingham Police Department rules and procedures. This review will be in accordance with the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, which was an executive order that former president Barack Obama signed in 2014 following the officer-involved shooting of Michael Brown.

At the end of the 90-day review, Woodfin will issue another executive order, this time filling any gaps between what the police department does now and the best practices outlined in Obama’s executive order.

“Every city right now is going to have to figure out what they’re going to pay for and what they aren’t, and how they are going to police in a post-George Floyd world,” Woodfin said at the press conference. “Birmingham is no different, and everything ison the table.”

Overall, Woodfin said he wants to use this opportunity to grow relationships and trust between the police and the community.

“The moment allows all of us to reflect,” he said. “What are our roles as elected officials, as police officers, as community partners, as everyday residents?”

There will be growing pains, though. Woodfin compares it to someone exercising for the first time — it hurts, but that person knows it’s healthier than doing nothing and will be better in the long run.

“I think post-George Floyd, what we’re witnessing is a growing pain for America,” he said. “We have to push through the pain if we want to be better as a country.”

For example, removing Confederate flags and monuments is a pain point for some. But for black Americans, these things are the opposite of patriotic and remind them of a time when African-Americans were relegated to slavery and property, Woodfin said.

“Are we going to grow up as a country? Are we going to mature as a country?... Then this is a pain point. We need to self-reflect and do the work to make sure all Americans are equal.”