ATLANTA — NBA star Jaylen Brown led demonstrators in a peaceful march throughout Atlanta this evening, saying he drove 15 hours from Boston, where he plays for the Celtics, to be here.
Brown is a Marietta native.
He gathered demonstrators earlier in the evening at the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial site, next to Ebenezer Baptist Church. They marched to the State Capitol, and eventually marched back to the MLK sites.
Brown repeatedly stressed keeping the march peaceful, 11Alive's Hope Ford reported.
Addressing the group at one point, he said, “This is a peaceful protest. There’s going to be a lot people trying to infiltrate us. Pay attention to your surroundings.”
Rapper Lil Yachty was also in the Brown group. Another NBA star, Malcolm Brogdon, also from the Atlanta area, was present.
Brown at times appeared to gather the group around in discussion. Hope reported they were "having passionate debates, conversations about the correct way that change needs to come about."
"They got together and decided we need to walk, we need to march, that's what we're here for, and they started walking," Hope reported.
She added Brown continued to try to put the focus not only on George Floyd, but remind everyone that they were gathered for Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, as well.
They appeared to then begin dispersing ahead of a 9 p.m. curfew that Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms instituted.
MORE HEADLINES ON THE ATLANTA PROTESTS
