‘White allies’ protest of police shooting leads to stadium
ST. LOUIS — Hundreds of mostly white protesters gathered Thursday evening in downtown St. Louis and marched, chanting “white silence is violence” in the latest demonstration following the acquittal of a former police officer in the death of a black man.
Organizers called for the “White Allies Only” rally, and a large crowd marched from a downtown plaza to Busch Stadium, where about 50,000 people gathered for a Billy Joel concert. The raucous crowd stood outside the stadium chanting for several tense minutes while about 100 officers stood inside a metal barrier, some in riot gear, but there were no confrontations or arrests.
A judge on Sept. 15 acquitted former officer Jason Stockley in the 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith. More than 160 people were arrested in protests last weekend, but demonstrations since then have been law-abiding.
Protest organizer Cori Bush said the point of Thursday’s rally was to drive home the point that it isn’t just African-Americans upset by the Stockley verdict.