ATLANTA — A group of activists gathered Saturday to rally for the development of the Rayshard Brooks Peace Center on the site of a Wendy’s that was burned down by protesters.
Channel 2′s Audrey Washington was at the rally at City Hall, where she talked to Brooks' family.
Activists and family members believe the center will help the community begin to heal following Brooks death.
We’re hearing how much the center will mean to Rayshard Brooks' widow and children, for WSB Tonight at 11 p.m.
Brooks was shot by an Atlanta police officer in the Wendy’s parking lot on United Avenue after he fell asleep in the drive-thru line in June. Protesters burned the restaurant down days later and occupied the parking lot for weeks. The remains of the building have since been torn down.
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On Saturday, family members and activists demanded that city officials allow them to continue negotiating with Wendy’s to create the Peace Center.
Activists have collected more than 1,000 signatures of support, but they say Atlanta officials are blocking their ability to move forward.
“We have city council members who are more interested in their own political destinies than they are in bringing this peace center together,” Al Bartell, a Georgia U.S. Senate candidate, said. “So we want to communicate to the owners of the Wendy’s property that the community is behind it and we are reaching out to you for partnership.”
Tomika Miller, Brooks' widow, said the Peace Center would mean the world to she and Brooks' children.
“I hope to see the good that we’re trying to do and that everything goes through and it proceeds for something positive,” Miller said. "They’ll have a positive way of remembering their father other than the black man who was killed by police at the Wendy’s; we want something positive behind it.”
Organizers are still talking with city leaders and with the Wendy’s corporation about the future of the site.
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