Cookout, march call for Justice for Patrick Lyoya

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — One day after Patrick Lyoya’s funeral, around a hundred people gathered downtown for a demonstration in his honor. To simply call it a protest would not do it justice. Protesting and marching were the theme of the latter half of the day, but ahead of that, it was a community cookout.

“It feels friendly, it feels welcoming,” said Deandre Jones, a community activist. “You see everybody feels comfortable, regardless. There’s homeless people coming and getting food, people who didn’t know where their next meal is going to come from. It’s good to see this was offered here.” 

Starting at Veterans Memorial Park at 3 p.m., the cookout was meant for everyone to enjoy. Jones says spreading the message of justice for Patrick isn’t just about making demands, its about coming together. Shortly after 6:30, the group of around 100 took to the streets to bring the message to the rest of downtown.

“I told Patrick’s mom that I wouldn’t stop protesting,” Jones said. “When I left the funeral I was here in the rain with a couple other activists… rain, sleet, snow, whatever it is, there will be people out here.” 

The group marched for an hour and a half, stopping periodically to take up an intersection and continue chants, speeches or calls for justice. At one point protest leaders moved a roadblock on Monroe Center, also known as Breonna Taylor Way, in order to march to the front of Grand Rapids Police Headquarters. 

While outside GRPD, speakers touched on the importance of voting and voter registration, what qualified immunity means and the experience of Black people in Grand Rapids, among other messages. They also called on their fellow crowd members to continue fighting for justice and not letting the momentum from Saturday’s gathering or the week before become lost.