Grab the tissues, because some of these will make you teary-eyed.

Last night, what started as a small group of people marching down Miller Road in Flint Township ended as a large, peaceful, and moving protest in memory and honor of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man who was killed by police officers last week.

The protest started at 6 PM and blocked both the northbound and southbound ramps of I-75 at Miller. People protested by driving along the route, along with others walking alongside them. The Target store on Miller Road had closed early in the day after rumors of a protest were brought to their attention; employees were sent home in case of a riot.

When the protesters made their way to the Flint Township Police Department, they were met by cops in riot gear, including Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson. The protesters sat down to show that they were meant to be peaceful; Swanson took off his helmet and put his baton down as a show of solidarity.

By the end of the night, police and protesters were peacefully marching together in solidarity, with Swanson vowing to "walk all night" and talk with people.

I woke up this morning for the first time in months feeling good, and it's because of this. We ALL know that the country was expecting Flint to go down in flames last night, and it didn't.

As Sheriff Swanson told MLive, “This is the way it’s supposed to be — the police working with the community. When we see injustice, we call it out on the police side and on the community side. All we had to do was talk to them, and now we’re walking with them."

26 Of The Best Pics From The Flint Protest

 

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

More From 99.1 WFMK