'We are never going to be tired': South Hills protest organizer vows continued fight over racial injustice

In less than a week’s time, Camille Redman has become one of the faces of a movement — a movement that has not lost momentum in the weeks since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police and a movement that has been working its way outward from Pittsburgh and into the suburbs.

Redman, 25, organized her first protest last week. It was away from the city center, set for Washington Road in Dormont and Mt. Lebanon. A friend, Ashley Love, brought the idea to her, and they went from there.

“We thought that we would get, maybe, our graduating class or a few stragglers,” she said.

Hundreds showed up for the peaceful march Friday that wound up Washington Road through the two municipalities.

“The amount of people, the amount of love, the amount of support — all the unknown faces — just really made us understand that what we’re doing is right,” she said. “We’re doing this for a reason. We’re out here for a reason.”

They did it again on Thursday, with hundreds of people showing up for a 1-mile march from Dormont to Jefferson Drive in Mt. Lebanon and back, with upward of 100 joining in along the way in Mt. Lebanon.

March has started, on Washington Boulevard toward Jefferson. Group plans to take a knee at the intersection for a moment of silence then head back. pic.twitter.com/c4KT8gjuqT

— Megan Guza (@meganguzaTrib) June 11, 2020

Redman said they knew after the first protest that “we were just getting going.”

“We figured we’d stay hot on everyone’s heels — keep it going,” she said.

Last Friday, during the first protest, Redman made a statement, shouting to neighbors and business owners that they could shut their doors “but still hear us through the walls.”

On Thursday, businesses and community members manned water stations along the route, and Mt. Lebanon Methodist Church opened its doors to anyone who needed to use the restroom.

One or two Dormont police officers talked with protesters before they shut down Washington Road for the march. Redman announced prior to the start that anyone who felt ill should find a police officer at one of the blocked-off intersections, and they would call for a medic.

There are a lot of residents and business owners on the sidewalks supporting the group pic.twitter.com/fDGRRIZ9u7

— Megan Guza (@meganguzaTrib) June 11, 2020

“That was amazing,” Redman said of the community support. “These are people who are in these communities. They brought their children out, and these are people who are raising their kids to see injustices in the world early at a young age.”

Thursday marked the 13th day of protests in the region, sparked by the Memorial Day death of Floyd at the hands of at least one Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes.

When the protesters reached Jefferson Drive, they sat.

“We have been walking this walk for hundreds of years,” Redman told the crowd, her voice cracking from shouting. “Our feet are tired. Our souls are worn down.

“This isn’t just about George Floyd. This is about me. This is about you. This is about your kids, your brother, your dad, your uncle. This is about Antwon Rose. This is about Breonna Taylor. This is about Philando Castile, Eric Garner — the long, long list of every person of color who never got to tell their side.”

They held a moment of silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds — the amount of time Officer Derek Chauvin allegedly kneeled on Floyd’s neck as he was handcuffed and face-down on the pavement.

In the midst of an 8-minute, 46-second moment of silence pic.twitter.com/sFLF0JPlMs

— Megan Guza (@meganguzaTrib) June 11, 2020

They continued to chant on the way back — “no justice, no peace, no more racist police,” “how many weren’t on video?” — familiar cries among protests that have ranged from Downtown Pittsburgh and Bakery Square to Washington and Coraopolis.

Redman spoke directly to those who want to be allies of the movement — white people who want to use their standing in life to raise up the voices of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Listen. Don’t listen to reply, listen to listen. All of us have different experiences as Americans, but I promise you: You are lucky that your skin color is not one of those issues,” she said. “When we say listen, we mean listen. Shut up and listen.”

Camille, on how to be allies. “When we say listen, we mean listen — shut up and listen.” pic.twitter.com/qxFUugD23T

— Megan Guza (@meganguzaTrib) June 11, 2020

Shutting up, she said, is what “they” want — the ones who want systemic racism to stay in place, who want to hold on to discriminatory ideas about people of color.

“They want us to be quiet. They want us to stop talking about it. They want us to get tired of talking about it,” she said. “We’re never going to stop. We are never going to be tired.

“So get used to hearing this, day in and day out, until we see the change that we want to see – until we see the change that we need to see.”