Last Saturday, Manassas became the epicenter of the protests within the Commonwealth, as what was meant to be peaceful became anything but that. Yesterday, the community came together in solidarity at Baldwin Park as both police and protesters spoke on taking steps in what was known as the ‘What’s Next?’ rally.

Organized in only four days, this was a collaborative effort of community leaders, business owners such as Ken Moorman of Jirani’s Coffehouse, and citizens coming out to let their voices be heard. Throughout the park one would see several voter registration tables, and those who were getting sign ups could be identified by wearing t-shirts with the words ‘Black Lives Matter.’ In addition, there was one vendor present who sold custom designed shoes to raise money for bailing out protestors. Upon entering the area, it was a blended mix of ages and cultures talking to one another, with songs of past and present blasting in the background. Whether it was Teddy Pendergrass’ “Wake Up Everybody” or Childish Gambino’s “This is America,” it symbolized the togetherness of generations in one setting all standing for the same cause of justice.

The festivities began with an inspiring speech from 19-year-old Savannah Davis, who addressed the crowd with a Saturday afternoon message reminiscent of a Sunday morning sermon, talked about the need to do what was necessary, include those in law enforcement. “We need to make the police feel uncomfortable!” exclaimed Davis, whose statement received an uproar from the crowd.

Frank Lee, one of the organizers, then introduced the Manassas Chief of Police D.W. Keen, who came to address the response of the police department. “We (police) should be uncomfortable. If you are not uncomfortable as to what’s going on, you should be looking for a different job,” said Keen. He concluded his speech by leading the crowd in a “Black Lives Matter” chant.

We spoke with Chief Keen afterwards to get his viewpoint on the current climate in the country and locally. “When I saw what happened to George Floyd, I felt helpless,” said Keen. “As police, if we don’t have that trust, something needs to change.”

He discussed how the Manassas City Police have a 100% compliance through an independent audit via CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies), which is formed through public safety practitioners. He stated how the MCP will continue to uphold the eight policies in place and ensure that they are practiced daily within his department.

A young pastor by the name of Josh addressed the church with a powerful statement: “Don’t go back into the church unless you’re willing to go into the streets.”

There were a sea of creative signs and the words of a young man addressing the symbolism of their words on cardboard. “Keep your signs high, and your heads high!”

Joshua King spoke on the importance of voting, as he lost the PWC Sheriff’s race by only 12 votes this past November. “We need to organize, mobilize and execute,” said King. He encouraged the crowd to visit https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/ to know who their elected officials are in the state. Although there are more than 22000 registered voters in Manassas, only an estimated 3800 voted in the 2019 election. 

The event ended with a panel of youth and community leaders talking about the need to have their voices heard and to answer the question “What’s Next?”

As one young man named Brian said it best, “Keep the conversation going!”

(For more photos from the event, visit our PW Perspective Facebook page)