Thousands came out to rally in downtown Winnipeg yesterday in support of Black Lives Matter.

A peaceful protest in Winnipeg's downtown area organized by Justice4BlackLivesWinnipeg brought thousands out of quarantine and isolation to rally in support of black lives.

 
 
 
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FRIDAY JUNE 5TH #JUSTICE4BLACKLIVESWINNIPEG FIFTH CALL TO ACTION: TODAY IS THE DAY WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. TODAY WILL BE HAPPENING RAIN OR SHINE. NOTHING CAN STOP US, NO ONE CAN SILENCE US. WE HAVE IMPORTANT INFORMATION WHICH WILL BE SHARED THROUGHOUT THE DAY. #204calltoaction #JUSTICE4BLACKLIVESWINNIPEG

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Peaceful and violent protests have been sparked across the globe since the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer placed him in a knee-hold for nearly nine minutes.

"I can't breathe," were among Floyd's last words, a statement that has become a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The protest made its way towards the Forks, with protestors chanting through the streets of downtown Winnipeg. "Black lives matter," can be heard on footage from the event.

 
 
 
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ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨: this will be the route we take during our march! From the legislative, to the forks, and finally ending at the human rights museum!

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Justice4BlackLives has also created an online petition for the implementation of several demands. The petition had over 8,000 of its goal of 10,000 signatures as of Saturday morning.

As part of Justice4BlackLivesWinnipeg's petition, the organization has listed five demands for the City of Winnipeg and one demand for the Province of Manitoba.

Demands for the city include defunding/abolishing the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS).

"Above all else, our group supports and advocates for complete abolition and defunding of the Winnipeg Police Service," the organization says.

"In Canada, the history of the police comes from the racist colonial aftershocks used simply to control, manipulate, and abuse Indigenous peoples in attempts to steal their land. We as Black people recognize and acknowledge that our current policing system is simply a reformed version of the racist and extremely violent slave patrol. No reform can come from these colonial practices, the system must be rebuilt and include marginalized voices in the process in order to protect all BIPOC to this city’s full capability."

The organization says it understands it will take time for these demands to be met. In the meantime, the group is asking for a number of changes to police practices in Winnipeg, including a ban on the use of knee-holds and chokeholds, immediate implementation of a Citizen's Review Board "to hold police departments accountable for mis-action," and the adoption of a zero-tolerance policy in penalizing and/or prosecuting police officers who kill Indigenous and Black people.

"No investigation should allow state legislated murders to be carried out by an external body of government without accountability and full responsibility," the organization states.

As well, Justice4BlackLivesWinnipeg is calling for a public statement issued by Mayor Brian Bowman on behalf of the City for "the immediate prosecution of those responsible for the deaths of D'Andre Campbell, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, and Jamal Francique.

"The three Black Canadians were murdered at the hands of the police and received no justice. In all three cases, the police worked extremely hard to cover up their mis-action and bury news about these cases from making their way to the mainstream media," the organization states.

"Not anymore."

A call for investigations into the deaths of unnamed and unidentified individuals who "died at the hands of the police or in their custody" has also been made.

The organization is also demanding support from the provincial government in helping the City of Winnipeg address their demands.

Following Friday's protest, the WPS tweeted their support of the peaceful rally and its participants over social media.

"Tip of the hat to all those involved with tonight's #JUSTICE4BLACKLIVESWINNIPEG rally," WPS says.

"You've shown the world what a peaceful event looks like while raising awareness for an important cause."

Police say no incidents in relation to the rally occurred.