The morning after: Cleaning up after protests in Pittsburgh Cleanup was underway after Pittsburgh businesses were damaged when protests turned violent
Shattered glass. Spray painted messages. Boarded-up windows.
These were the scenes Sunday morning in Downtown Pittsburgh as the cleanup began in earnest, a day after mayhem took place during a protest over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Business owners and others were cleaning up in downtown Pittsburgh Sunday morning after a peaceful protest turned violent on Saturday.The protest was over the officer-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last Monday.
Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said 43 adults and one juvenile were arrested after the protest led to damage to businesses and other crimes.Pittsburgh Public Safety tweeted on Saturday, "It's important to note that Public Safety believes today’s violence was committed by outsiders, not Pittsburghers."
“It’s just heartbreaking,” said Randy Madera, a Pittsburgh resident. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing. It’s very sad.”
“Why destroy where we live?” asked Alonzo Rice, also from Pittsburgh. “Why destroy our city? It's a beautiful place. I've only been in Pittsburgh three years. But this is our home. We're supposed to be Pittsburgh strong.”
Jam Hammond was sweeping glass off the Wood Street sidewalk about 9 a.m. He was with a group of Pittsburghers who organized volunteer cleanup efforts on Reddit.
“I feel bad for small businesses and the organizers of the original protest as well,” he said.
He said it’s clear the original peaceful protest was co-opted by violent rioters. He said he feared the destruction would sow division between the protesters and city residents.
Squirrel Hill resident Rachel Myers said she had hoped to participate in the peaceful protest but couldn’t make it. She said she believed it was her responsibility as a city resident to help clean up her city.
“It’s been really encouraging just to see so many people coming together to help out,” she said.
Myers said she and her friends recently have been learning more about the history of racism in Pittsburgh and want to do more to act against racism.
“We feel like we haven’t given much focus to the issue for a long time,” she said.
Ryan Wysocki runs a volunteer group called Sheraden Neighbors. Though the group usually focuses its efforts on the Sheraden neighborhood, they packed up their brooms and came Downtown on Sunday.
“We said this is what we’re about, so let’s help our neighbors Downtown,” he said.
