TULSA, Okla. — Sarvi Amjadi was a co-host of Sunday afternoon's Black Lives Matter rally. She was supposed to give a speech with the message of unity, understanding, and dialogue, but the protest did not go as planned.
The rally began as a peaceful gathering at Greenwood Cultural Center, marking 99 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre.
“I’m not very good at giving speeches,” was the way Amjadi's six-minute speech was supposed to start.
Amjadi said the crowd at the rally got so large that a good portion split off and started marching, canceling the rest of the speeches. They were eventually led to I-244 by another speaker.
She pleaded with the crowd to clear the road, as neither she nor Tulsa Police planned for the blockade. She says no one would listen, and she had to climb back down.
The blockade, and the chaos that occurred Sunday night and Monday, is not what she or any organizer wanted to see.
Now, she simply doesn't want their message getting lost in the events of the last few days.
"Our whole intention wasn't to destroy anything. We love our community. We love Tulsa," Amjadi said. "That’s really what broke my heart on Sunday; Tulsa was going to be different than every other city right now.”
Her speech was a plea to stand together and love each other, and listen to those with different backgrounds.
“I can’t post another hashtag to pray for another life lost. All I know is enough is enough,” the speech concludes.
Amjadi asks Tulsa to stand united, and start important discussions between communities, to make this a turning point for the city.
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