Bay County NAACP addresses death of George Floyd, calls for change

As protests continue nationwide, and with more planned for this weekend, Bay County NAACP members spoke about what they plan to do locally in response to the death of George Floyd and racism in general in 2020.

“I think it’s important that they know about this movement, and that [children] are raised with the values of social justice and helping people and just doing their part to make the world a better place," said local mom Amanda Kuchta.

Kuchta brought her kids to the Bay County Courthouse to listen to members of the Bay County NAACP speak in a press conference Friday afternoon.

Dozens of people with signs in hand were standing side by side in solidarity, fighting for justice for George Floyd.

“Here in 2020 we’re still having to deal with racism. I believe his death has exposed this racism in a way like never before. and I believe that’s why people are rising up around the nation," Bay County Branch NAACP President Dr. Rufus Wood Jr. said.

“One of the things we wanted to let people know today, was that we plan on executing something measurable, objective and strategic and those are the steps we laid out today," Bay County Branch NAACP First Vice President Dinah Crayton said.

Dr. Wood Jr. said he wants to move from protest to policy. That includes starting a new citizens review board in Bay County.

He said he wants to hold law enforcement officers accountable when there is misconduct, brutality, or abuse.

"We want to be able to constructively engage and seek resolution in some of the problems that the community might have, to include aggressive police forcing," Crayton said.

Bay County NAACP officials also added they believe the Bay County community has come a long way, but there is still work to be done.