The Clayton County Board of Education on Monday held a moment of silence to recognize African Americans whose deaths in confrontations with police and others are at the heart of protests roiling the nation.
“I call the name of Ahmaud Arbery, I call the name of Brionna Taylor, I call the name of George Floyd and I ask that this Clayton County Board of Education take a moment to honor these three individuals,” board chairwoman Jessie Goree said at the start of the meeting.
Metro Atlanta braced for a fifth day of demonstrations Tuesday calling for police reform and justice in what many see as an epidemic of death for unarmed African Americans.
Arbery, Taylor and Floyd were fatally wounded in three separate incidents since March and have become flashpoints for protests.
Goree said it was important to her to recognize the national unrest because she didn’t want Clayton students to “walk around and be afraid.”
“I want to reflect on what has happened this weekend and what’s going on right now in the city of Atlanta, what’s going on across this nation,” she said. “We have unrest. We have young people that are out protesting because of some atrocities that have happened in this country.”
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