(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Protesters make their way down 500 South in Salt Lake City during the Dance Dance Revolution protest for racial equality, on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020.
Close to 300 protesters danced and skated through the streets of downtown Salt Lake City on Sunday afternoon during the weekly protest dubbed “Dance Dance for Revolution.” Demonstrators marched in support of racial equality, Black Lives Matter, Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal as well as pleas to drop the felony charges facing some protesters. Several dozen marchers wore T-shirts with “Drop the charges” printed on the front with an illustration of the red paint spilled at the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
Last Sunday, the Dance Dance for Revolution gathering honored Zane James, a 19-year-old suspected of armed robbery who was killed by an officer with the department in 2018. The demonstration turned violent when officers arrived, confronted protesters and eventually made nine arrests.
Sunday’s protest had no such confrontations. The Salt Lake City police stopped downtown traffic and kept their distance, allowing protesters to march and dance in the streets. Popsicles, water, snacks and sunscreen were handed out by mutual aid volunteers, and super-soaker squirt guns cooled off the dancers as they danced along the route.
Attendees heard some political speeches and watched a special performance by Ballet West dancers Chelsea Keefer and Jazz Bynum in the middle of State Street.
