George Floyd rally planned for Saturday in Fall River

FALL RIVER -- A group of young local protest organizers met at Lafayette Park on Tuesday with Mayor Paul Coogan and Fall River Police Chief Jeffrey Cardoza to talk strategy regarding Saturday’s planned rally in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who died last week at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

All agreed the goal is for a peaceful assembly.

“It’s our community and we want our community to come together,” said Bristol Community College student Tala Sonallah.

The rally will take place in Lafayette Park on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m.

Sonallah’s initial idea was to have rally participants walk from the park to One Government Center, the site of a peaceful protest last Sunday.

But fellow organizer Katera James, who also attends BCC and who attended the Boston protest where violence and looting broke out, agreed with Coogan’s idea that protesters should stay in the park area.

“Honestly, from personal experience in Boston, it was fine when it was in a contained area,” said James, saying people attended the rally from outside Massachusetts. “I want this to end in peace.”

Early Tuesday morning in Providence, police and residents also endured a night of violence.

Cardoza said he is on the “same page” as James.

“I’m worried that people who aren’t from Fall River are going to come here and they don’t care about the cause,” said Cardoza. “We saw a little bit of that on Sunday. I want what you want.”

Cardoza said later he supported the organizers and their message, and that when he saw the video of the officers killing Floyd, “I was sick.”

The group mapped out the route for the protest walk, then organizers pointed to a hill where they’ll let people speak.

Sonallah asked Coogan if he would say a few words at the protest, who said he’d rather let the young people speak.

“You’re the ones carrying the message forward,” said Coogan, who attended Sunday’s protest and joined the in taking knee for nine minutes, the same amount of time the Minneapolis police officer kneeled on Floyd’s throat until he died.

“Your voice is important too,” said Sonallah.

Cardoza told the organizers that there was going to be a small visible police presence at the protest and other police officers off the site.

“If that’s the case, then they have to take a knee with us,” said Sonallah.

Cardoza said there are Fall River officers who will be “very receptive to that.”

James said she was becoming weary and said she wanted to organize a “listening” opportunity.

“We don’t want rioting. The goal isn’t to keep protesting until people get it, the goal is to just be heard and share their experience,” said James. “I would love to share my experience and I want to have a conversation because the end goal is peace. That’s what we want to do.”

The meeting with Coogan and Cardoza is a “step in the right direction.”

“I was able to talk to the mayor of the city and have him hear me and I heard him. I was able to talk to the police chief and things are being addressed things are being addressed, things are being handled,” said James.

Sonallah agreed.

“When we can have conversations like this it can work.”

Email Jo C. Goode at jgoode@heraldnews.com.