(FreshAsFrankie) The Charlottesville city council was back in session with a meeting that went left when protesters broke out a banner that read “blood on your hands,” on Monday, August 21.
It was the first time the council had convened since the deadly August 12 rally, and the demonstration’s failed security became the talk of the evening, despite it not being on the meeting agenda. “You had multiple opportunities to intervene, and you did not intervene one time. We told you exactly what you needed to do and you did nothing,” one man hollered from raucous members of the public on hand. The space filled with jeers as the mayor, vice mayor and three council members sprang from their seats and made their exit upon those holding the banner taking to the front of the room. Police then flooded the room and made arrests of three persons, each of which was later released.
After three hours of gripes from the community, surrounding fallout from the white supremacist rally, the council voted in favor of a measure to drape the statues as a gesture of mourning for Heather Heyer. And a measure to expedite the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue as well as a statue of Stonewall Jackson in the city.
Dee Beasley is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of FreshAsFrankie.com. After starting out as a musician-producer he went on to study the music business and work in Urban Promotions, followed by artist management. Mr. Beasley entrepreneurial spirit has led him to launch numerous businesses in music and fashion marketing. He’s a huge fan of the ’80s and ’90s Hip Hop and R&B, and he’s a firm believer that Hip Hop Music will never die.