A crowd carrying signs and flying the rainbow flag set up in the center of the boardwalk in Algonac Friday afternoon during a combined Black Lives Matter and LGBT Pride protest.
Facing the passing motorists along St. Clair River Drive, one demonstrator's sign read "Silence is Violence." Others groups formed up around statues in the area, waving American, Gadsden and Trump 2020 flags. Down the street, the Algonac Lions Pickerel Tournament and Festival carried on through the roughly 90 degree heat.
The demonstration follows a wave of protests across the United States in the past months following the death of George Floyd in an encounter with Minneapolis Police.
The St. Clair County Sheriff Department checked in with the organizers ahead of the event and could be seen posted around downtown Algonac.
The protest group met up by the boardwalk across from CVS around 4 p.m.
Baylee Huffman worked to organize the protest, reaching out to friends and online.
"Love is love, regardless of your gender, regardless of your color," Huffman said.
Huffman is also the plaintiff in a lawsuit against the City of Detroit and Detroit Police Department alongside Nadia Rohr, which alleges Rohr sustained a skull injury from what is believed to be a rubber bullet at a protest in May. The two had gone to the protest to offer water, food and other aid to participants, Huffman said.
"We just wanted to help in any way we could possible, even if that was just giving out supplies to people that were sick or needed help or were also hurt," Huffman said.
As the demonstrators gathered up in a nearby parking lot, Cameron Strassburg held a rainbow flag. Strassburg said it was important to make a stand for Black and LGBT rights in a small town like Algonac.
"This is our home town," Strassburg said.
Alina DeVoogd said she came out to represent the causes for similar reasons.
"As my town, it's my role to step up," DeVoogd said. "It's needed everywhere.
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Contact Jeremy Ervin at (810) 989-6273 or jervin@gannett.com.Follow him on Twitter @ErvinJeremy.
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