Toledo activists call their own shots when planning protests

TOLEDO — While many people wonder what outside influences might be behind local uprisings over former Minnesotan George Floyd's death, several activists said they have no reason to believe the demonstrations — the peaceful ones, at least — come from anything but a genuine, organic movement created by and embraced by Toledoans themselves. When they turn ugly, though — as last Saturday's did at the conclusion of a rally downtown — they fear rioting is being provoked by outside groups such as Anonymous and Antifa. Sir Maejor Page, one of the chief organizers behind a peaceful march through West Toledo and Ottawa Hills on Sunday, and another one on Monday in the vicinity of Toledo Police Chief George Kral's home along Hill Avenue, told The Blade he recognized "some provocateurs" in the crowd on Saturday, a mix of people from Toledo and out of state associated with those two groups. Some, he said, had hard knuckle gloves to punch out windows and book bags he believes are filled with bricks and rocks."They're going there with the intentions to cause a riot," he said. "They're part of Antifa and Anonymous." It doesn't take many people to provoke a fight in hopes of it escalating. "They'll march in different cities," depending on the needs of their groups, Mr. Page said."I saw what I saw," he said, referring to one fight in particular that ensued after Saturday's rally when a man he knew intentionally pushed a woman to cause a reaction. "It causes chaos, but unfortunately we take a bad rap for it." His group, which soon plans to call itself Hi-Frequency, is about 1,300 members strong now, according to Abelino Ruiz, a Toledoan working with Mr. Page."Our whole platform is peace," Ruiz said. "We make it very clear before the march and during the march that [violence] is not who we are."Toledo police did not impede their march through the west side of Toledo on Sunday, nor did Ottawa Hills officers when they entered that village, because participants remained peaceful. Ruiz said he believes police will continue to "respect our right to peacefully demonstrate" if there is no violence.Page, who now lives in Atlanta and hopes to begin attending law school soon, said he is remaining on an extended visit in Toledo until things settle down."I want to help channel this organized chaos," he said.Not surprisingly, many groups use Facebook and other social media platforms to communicate about upcoming rallies. One of the more popular information exchanges has been #toledoprotest on Twitter."What you don't see at the protests is there's a lot of work behind the scenes to organize them," Julian Mack, spokesman for the Community Solidarity Response Network, a local affiliate of the national Black Lives Matter movement which was the chief group behind Saturday's two events. The first was along Secor Road near Central Avenue, followed by the main event downtown near the Safety Building. He said he group has been meeting every Tuesday night at 6 p.m. since late November of 2014, most recently via Zoom conference calls. Tuesday night's was interrupted by hackers. "I think we're seeing an entry point for a lot of people in the movement," Mr. Mack said. "We're all kind of standing in solidarity with each other."Planners try not to reveal too much too soon, he said. "There's been a conversation about timing in regards to when we announce we're going to have an action, the anarchist influence," Mr. Mack said.He and fellow CSRN member Ruth Leonard are NAACP members, but said that neither that longstanding national organization nor Black Lives Matter or other groups call the shots locally. Nearly all activists, Mack said, belong to multiple groups. That's encouraged. Each member brings a different set of skills and life experiences, Ms. Leonard said. "We believe in protests. We believe in marching. But we also believe in political expediency," she said. She said word has gotten out that another demonstration, planned by an unknown group, is set for 3 p.m. Saturday in Rossford. "We're not heading this one in Rossford. We're just trying to support it the best we know how," Mack said. One of CSRN's co-founders is Washington Muhammad, who said he commonly goes by the name Brother Washington Muhammad. He said he is a member of the nation of Islam, and brings teachings from it to the group. He predicts several more marches. "A march is just a group of people walking to bring awareness," he said. "A protest is something different." Muhammad said he chooses "to be fluid" and to "let people experiment with concepts and ideas." "Since we're decentralized, we really don't have to answer to anyone," he said.___(c)2020 The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)Visit The Blade (Toledo, Ohio) at www.toledoblade.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.