BREAKING NEWS

Black Lives Matter marches on Minnesota State Fair

By REUTERS

AUGUST 29, 2015 22:04

Several hundred protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement marched to the Minnesota State Fair on Saturday to bring attention to race issues ranging from policing to under-representation of minorities at one of the nation's biggest state fairs.

The mixed-race crowd, including senior citizens and children, chanted slogans along the 1-1/2 mile route and briefly lay down on a bridge south of the fairgrounds.

"There's a cliche that Minnesota is nice to everyone, but that's not the case for people of color," said 51-year-old marcher Tim, who did not want to give his last name because event organizers said they had received death threats.

"As a white person I want to be vocal about that ... This (protest march) is a small inconvenience to state fair traffic compared to what people of color experience every day," he said.

Fairgoers stopped to take photos of the marchers, organized by Black Lives St. Paul.

"We're disturbed on a day-to-day basis. We don't mind disturbing the status-quo for one day," said Trahern Crews, 40, an event organizer who is running for a seat on the St. Paul City Council.

Black Lives Matter, a decentralized national movement against racism in policing and the justice system, gained momentum last year during protests over police killings of unarmed black men.

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