VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Sidewalk chalk at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront is helping spread a message of positivity and equality.
It has been almost three weeks since George Floyd was killed while in Minneapolis Police custody, sparking national outrage and fueling a movement for racial justice.
That is exactly what motivated a Virginia Beach woman to take to the Oceanfront with buckets of chalk.
“I wrote ‘VB is for Lovers.’ So, where is the love for all of our people,” said Cecelia Reid, who started “Chalk Walk for Justice” nine days ago. “It’s a way to speak our minds about the Black Lives Matter movement.”
Reid has been on the boardwalk for nine days with buckets of donated sidewalk chalk spreading this message.
“The beauty of this too, is that people are able to just come and write a message and then keep going,” said Reid.
“But it’s showing people that are walking by like — these people are with you, we do stand with you, we aren’t standing beside, you but we are with you — you know? I think in a world filled with hate, we’re only going to fight the power with unity and love.”
People are free to write whatever messages they want.
“Your perspective may be different than my perspective, but I accept and respect your perspective,” she said.
For Reid, there is one drawing that hits especially hard; she spent hours writing names of people who have been killed at the hands of police.
“This is all of the people that have been killed through police brutality,” said Reid. “These are just the ones that made the media. How many more lives to we need to lose to police brutality before this stops? Enough is enough.”
She says she will be out at the boardwalk with chalk until the city does something permanent similar to the Black Lives Matter mural in Washington, D.C.
