'If you support something, let it be known': Hundreds gather in Hanover in support of Black Lives Matter

As hundreds of protesters gathered in downtown Hanover Saturday afternoon, Anita Whaley kept the crowd united with chants. 

"What's his name?" Whaley would call. "George Floyd," the crowd would say.

"I can't ...," she would start. "Breathe," the crowd would respond.

Whaley said she cried when she first saw the video of George Floyd being held down by police officers.

"Because all I could do is see my sons on that ground, like I didn't see George Floyd no more. I saw Lawrence, I saw Terence, I saw ... my grandsons, my nephews," Whaley said.

At the protest, Whaley was almost brought to tears again for a different reason.

"(Seeing all the support) 'bout made me cry because, this is Hanover, this is a very racist town," said Whaley of McSherrystown.

She said she has experienced racism with people calling her the N-word, almost running her over with a car, or treating her poorly at work. She also knows her sons and nephews have experienced it, too.

"There's more whites out here (at the protest) than blacks, and that's a good thing because you're letting them know, I see you, I hear you, I support you," Whaley said.

She hopes the large crowd can bring a new awareness of change to the community. She said she wants to see police officers get better training at de-escalating situations and held responsible for their actions.

After seeing the George Floyd video, Whaley decided to make a change by starting her organization Save Our People. She is now gathering a team and working on a Facebook page.

"I was angry at myself (after seeing that video) because (the organization) is something I wanted to do for years but I had that fear," Whaley said. "(George Floyd) wouldn't have died if we would have did something a long time ago."

More:Artists, musicians take over downtown York for another Black Lives Matter protest

The protest was organized by Matthew Anselmi, of Gettysburg, who also organized last week's protest in Gettysburg. He said he had about 30 volunteers that helped.

Rumors about the potential for violence swirled on social media in the days leading up to the protest. Social media posters noticed Friday that windows were boarded up at Treasures and The Evening Sun building at Broadway and York Street and speculated it was in anticipation of a violent protest. 

Jill Rohrbaugh, the landlord of both buildings, covered the windows ahead of a masonry re-pointing/restoration project. 

Hanover Borough Police Chief Chad Martin also debunked any violence rumors in a Facebook post Thursday.

"The facts are that there is a scheduled protest in Hanover this Saturday, June 6, 2020, and the intent is a Peaceful Protest against Police Brutality," the post said.

There was no visible police presence Saturday, although Anselmi said there were plain-clothed officers in the crowd. 

More:Rusk reports offer solutions to many issues raised by protesters. Do we have the will to change?

Protesters and their signs

More than 200 people were in downtown Hanover holding signs in support of Black Lives Matter, honoring George Floyd or speaking out against police brutality.

Here's a look at some of the people behind those signs:

'Silence = violence'

"Even just supporting something from afar isn't supporting it, that's letting other oppression ... win. If you support something, let it be known. Be a part of the change instead of letting what's happening stay that way," said Ben Krentler, 24, of Hanover.

Krentler has lived in the Hanover area his whole life.

"It makes me happy seeing that there are people in this town willing to fight for what they believe in and change when it needs to happen."

Black Lives Matter fist with the LGBTQ+ flag in the background

"There's been a lot of like, 'I support Black Lives Matter but I don't support LGBTQ,' and you know LGBTQ wouldn't have gotten here if it wasn't for this (protests) ...  Obviously, people of color fit into the LGBTQ so it's just kind of like accepting everybody," said Shay Brunick, 28, of Gettysburg.

Brunick also brought her son, Jackson Nett, with her to the protest.

"I prefer to raise him open minded and make sure he understands like the justices in the world and be out here to witness it, be a part, of like, the right side of history."

More:Soloist: 'We Shall Overcome' over silent crowd during Black Lives Matter Peaceful Protest

'Stop teaching kids racism'

"I wanted to try to figure out the words to say to affect the generations to come because this has been an ongoing problem for decades now. We've got to figure out how to end racism. If we stop teaching our children that maybe they won't grow up having racism in their hearts because it's learned ...," said Sheenna Almony, 36, of Hanover.

Almony said that the racism she's experienced in the area has even lead her to therapy. On Saturday, she said it warmed her heart to see so many people supporting Black Lives Matter.

"This is the same intersection I drove through one time and somebody called me the N-word out their car just driving by. So, to see this coming through here was healing for me to say that there's that many people here to support my skin color, support us."

Black Lives Matter fist with a Puerto Rican flag attached to it

"Since I'm born in Puerto Rico, I chose to use the Puerto Rican flag but I'm mostly representing the Cubanos, because they're mostly darker, and they have a lot of injustice just like black people," said Sergio Medina, 17, of Gettysburg.

Medina felt it was important to come out as a young person and call out the prejudice that is experienced by people of color in America.

"For the new generations and older ones that don't understand and how they were raised, like I want to represent the injustice that we have and not due to our race but the color of our skin."

Mariana Veloso is the Quality of Life reporter for the USA Today Network - Pennsylvania. Veloso focuses primarily on the opioid epidemic in southcentral PA, along with coverage of everyday issues in the Hanover area. If you have a story idea, you can email her at msveloso@eveningsun.com. Follow her on Twitter @MariVeloso9 to stay up to date with her latest articles.