McALLEN — Two groups with varying ideologies will have to walk a fine line here as they prepare to call attention to their respective causes in support of the black and law enforcement communities Saturday evening.
Aimaloghi Eromosele, 17, and her two older brothers decided to host a solidarity march and vigil at Archer Park on Saturday evening in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign. The black siblings, who grew up in Palmhurst, took action after learning about the two latest casualties embraced by the national movement: Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile.
“I really felt compelled to do something,” Eromosele said. “We’ve attended actions before, but I felt like this one really needed to be hosted and created by black members in our community —even though there aren’t many.”
Soon after word began to spread about the demonstration, however, another group began to emerge: those who wanted law enforcement to know that they support them.
George Rice, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, identifies with the latter. Although he did not organize the counter demonstrations that have since organized, he did help spread the word.
“I wouldn’t call myself an activist by any means,” he said Wednesday. “I’m just an outspoken guy that believes what I believe in and wants whatever is best for the community.”
Rice believes the rally should be postponed to give the area time to heal from the loss of the five police officers gunned down in Dallas last week.
“This is really, really bad timing with everything that’s going on — especially down here in the Valley, where we have one of the largest law enforcement populations in the United States,” he said.
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