Tuesday night members of the community met at the Tim Cole Memorial Statue, on the corner of 19th street and University Avenue, to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement. 

The demonstration was organized by a local non-profit, Lubbock Cares, in response to day to day coverage of the injustices in America. 

“If black lives don’t matter, then it is no longer true that all lives matter,” organizer Francesca Di Poppa said. “So that is really the point that we are trying to drive home. It is not that we are anti-anything; except of course we are anti-injustice, we are anti-police brutality and to the best of my knowledge L.P.D. is in perfect agreement.”

The peaceful demonstration went on, despite heavy rainfall. Many attendees braving the elements because they said this issue is too important to ignore.

“Every life matters but we want you to look at the ones that are suffering,” attendee Angela Clark said. 

Students from Texas Tech and Lubbock Christian University held signs reading ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Silence=Violence.’ Some of the supporters were younger, carrying signs bigger than their bodies. Some attendees were older, sitting in chairs and under umbrellas.

“It’s very inspiring to see that others care about black lives as much as African Americans care about their lives,” Clark said. “So just to have these people standing next to me is marvelous.”

Di Poppa said the event was not technically affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement, but they support a lot of the same things. 

“I have heard from African Americans that they do experience racial profiling,” Di Poppa said. “So that in and of itself is something that should be addressed.” 
 
“Folks in Lubbock need to know that there is unity in our community,” said Lala Chavez, a member of the LISD Board of Trustees. “And I think that we all need to be unified and be here together.” 
 
For some, the issue should not exist in 2016. 
 
“We have been here long enough and slavery has been abolished long enough that this should not be happening in our country,” Cindy Talbot said.
 
“Supporting their right to ask for this and really they shouldn’t have to ask,”  Joe Merchant said. “It is something that we all should have. We should all have equality under the law and within our society”
 
While mostly peaceful, a man who would only go by Jake, was on the sideline with his sign reading ‘BLM=Hate.’
 
“I don’t think any of the people here are cop killers or anything like that,” Jake said. “But I think they’ve chosen to associate themselves with a group that is responsible for the murder of police officers, and somehow gotten away with pushing this false narrative that Black Lives Matter has nothing to do with it.”
 
Jake said he agreed with a lot of the same fundamentals of the Black Lives Matter movement, but not their approach to certain situations. 
 
“What I would like to see happen and what they would like to see happen is probably very similar,” Jake said. “But in my opinion, the way you go about things is more important; if not more important than what you’re doing. I think they are approaching this the entirely wrong way.” 
 
There were no clashes between protesters and demonstrators, only peaceful discussion; which appropriately mirrors the theme of the evening, ‘Standing on the Side of Love.’
 
“If you want to be a part of this, this is where you have to stand,” Di Poppa. “It is not based on we hate these people because they chose a certain profession, we hate these people because they belong to a certain race. This is not what we are about.”
 
City leaders, including Mayor Dan Pope and Lubbock Police Chief Greg Stevens, will host a series of forums for the community to discuss race issues. The first forum is on Thursday night at 6 p.m.. at Lubbock High School cafeteria.