Protests raged across the nation over the weekend amid as people demand justice following the death of George Floyd who died while in Minneapolis police custody.
Ron Davis served as a speaker during protests in downtown Jacksonville Saturday. He's the father of Jordan Davis, a black Jacksonville teenager shot and killed in November of 2012 by Michael Dunn, a white man, during a dispute over loud music.
Davis' death sparked outrage and years ago also filled the streets of downtown with protestors.
“I remember when the first trial ended even though Michael Dunn got 70 years in prison they didn’t convict him for killing my son,” Davis said. “And those people protested in the rain.”
In a second trial, Dunn was later found guilty of the first-degree murder of Jordan Davis.
"We're being brutalized," Davis said. "And you have to understand our sons and our daughters and our grandchildren is who we are fighting for today. Because think about if we let this go on how their lives are going to be. How is your son's life going to be? How is your daughter's life going to be in this world we live in today?"
Davis firmly believes in the power of protest but says it must be done effectively without unnecessary violence. The 67-year old says protestors need to focus on the purpose of getting justice.
"What I was trying to do was give them a message about how a lot of this started," Davis said. "A lot of them don’t realize how all of this started. They think it was from Trayvon Martin to now. And it wasn’t. For me personally since I’m 67 it started with Emmett Till for me when I was a baby. I heard about Malcolm, I heard about Martin Luther King. I remember how Angela Davis was treated in New York."
On Saturday, a protestor in Jacksonville is seen on video smashing a police cruiser, a JSO officer was stabbed and at least 22 people were arrested for unlawful assembly including an 80-year-old man.
Davis believes the violence was sparked by people from out of town.
"Even throughout the Trayvon Martin incident, even throughout the Jordan Davis incident I didn't see where people are ready to really burn Jacksonville," Davis said. "Right now they're ready to burn buildings. I've had people send me stuff and they've tried to friend me on Facebook. And I won't friend them. When you look at what they've said. These are people that want anarchy. They want to friend you because you have a name. I remove all of these people because I know why they're here and I know what they're trying to do."
However, despite the later violence, Davis describes the early protest scene Saturday as "amazing." Saying it was great to see so many people gathered for a common purpose.