News Release

WINONA LAKE – The next demonstration in solidarity with local organizers to bring awareness to the community of the unjust death of George Floyd will be Monday night, June 8, in Winona Lake.

The demonstration will be in Winona Lake Park, south of the town’s police station and west of the tennis courts in a grassy area west of Park Avenue and south of Fort Wayne Street.

The event is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m.

The event will serve as “a safe space for any and all allies of the local protests” and the nationwide movement to end police brutality against people of color, organizers posted on a Facebook page.

The first two demonstrations held in Warsaw were organized by Ofelia “Ofy” Rios and Maria Medina, who are aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Ofy and I will not be attending this event because we are allowing our white allies to take the reigns and lead these conversations to educate other allies, as it should be,” Medina wrote on a Facebook page.

As a community, we must realize that having these difficult conversations is the imperative first step to bring actual change to our community, and we’d like to welcome all of those ready to have these conversations, a statement read on the Facebook page.

One of the organizers of Monday’s event is Travis McConnell, an attorney who is running for Kosciusko County Commissioner middle district.