Mayor Bettie Jones Parker of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, has finally got what she wanted from protesters who have been protesting the murder of unarmed Andrew Brown Jr., killed on April 21, 2021, by Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Department.
Parker declared that Elizabeth City, North Carolina was in a state of emergency Monday, April 26, and enacted a curfew on Tuesday, April 27, from 8 PM-6 AM because she got intelligence that protesters were throwing rocks at police officers among other things.
Ever since this curfew has been in place, she has pushed to have someone’s name written down in her office if the protests go left to make it easier for her to point fingers and possibly hold the permit applicant responsible for any violent protests.
A source confirmed with The North Carolina Beat that a man named Kirk Rivers is listed as the organizer on the permit. Kirk is said to be the blood brother of Pasquotank County NAACP President, Keith Rivers.
If anything goes left at these protests, Kirk will be held responsible. I think the move was wrong, simply because people have a constitutional right to assemble peacefully, and you have no rights when you don’t know your rights.
Protests in Elizabeth City have been different than what we have seen around the country, and that is because residents have pleaded with outsiders that this is where they grew up, this is all they know, and this is where they have to live when those who are not from Elizabeth City return to the comfort of their homes.
Elizabeth City does remind me of my hometown back in Troy, Alabama. A tiny town, where everybody knows everybody. People even know the police department officers by name, plus the city is predominately black. People there have grown up to become local doctors, police officers, restaurant owners, etc.
Protests in Elizabeth City have been peaceful since the shooting and killing of Andrew Brown Jr.
The North Carolina Beat was on the ground from Friday, April 23-Thursday, April 29, and not one time were there any violence, looting, or rioting. Every protest was peaceful and ended just before 10:30 P.M. each night.
The North Carolina Beat spoke to two business owners who want to remain anonymous and said that they complained to the city about the 8:00 P.M. curfew affecting their businesses. On April 30, Mayor Parker amended the curfew to 12:00 A.M. to 6:00 A.M.
One city councilman who recently got into it with another city councilman about permits to protests on social media has been trying to take credit for getting the curfew extended. He first said that he would be able to get it lifted, but that was a lie.
On Thursday, April 29, City councilman Gabriel Adkins claimed that if protesters did not block the bridge and were off the streets by 8 PM that night, he could get the curfew lifted. As many of you know, that didn’t happen. No other public post or comments from Adkins suggested he could get the curfew amended to a later time if he could not get it lifted. (See Post Below)
But on Friday, April 30, Adkins came with a Facebook post about the curfew being amended and then got in the comments and took credit, saying, “I told everyone yesterday to trust me.” Liar! Liar! Pants on fire! You said you would be able to get it LIFTED, not amended to a later time, sir. (See Post Below)
Just know, it was business owners complaining about closing early that got the curfew amended. It was just a partial victory for protesters who wanted to stay later than they usually have stayed.
