WASHINGTON — Washingtonians are on the sixth continuous day of taking to the streets to protest police brutality following the killing of George Floyd while in police custody. Crowd members have included everyone from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to Sen. Elizabeth Warren and even a toddler, whose mother said she brought her 1.5-year-old daughter to remind the crowd what they were fighting for: a better future for children.
WUSA9 reporter Eric Flack caught up with another mother Wednesday, who came to the city from Landover, Maryland with her four young daughters. Verletta said she had spent Saturday and Sunday at protests in the city with her husband.
"We've seen the good and the bad part of it, and both parts have been very powerful," Verletta said. "Just seeing people come together and unite, it's a beautiful thing."
For Verletta, the D.C. protests were her first time "experiencing anything like this." But she noted her children, who are on social media, had seen what was happening in the news concerning George Floyd and the protests.
"They had a lot of questions, so we decided to bring them," Verletta said.
The girls joined their mother in the city Tuesday and Wednesday for two days of peaceful protests. Verletta said after the first day, her daughters were not ready to leave when it was time to go home.
"Yesterday, they came without signs and were very amped up," Verletta said. "They didn't want to leave, so they went home and they made their signs and they are back out here today."
Verletta's oldest daughter, 11-year-old Riniyah, held a sign that said "no justice, no peace, no racist police."
"I feel like I noticed that black people have had enough, and I feel like we all should just come together to peace," Riniyah said.
Verletta's 7-year-old held a sign reading "stop killing" while her two other daughters marched with "black lives matter" and "I can't breathe" signs.
As Flack spoke with Verletta and her daughters, a crowd of protesters cheered the girls on and applauded their decision to join the fight.