Members of clergy led a protest of about 50 people today inside the St. Louis Galleria in Richmond Heights starting at 3:15 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. It was led by the “No Justice No Profit” group, which is calling for an economic boycott of businesses there in response to the sometimes violent police action taken during protests on-site September, when 22 people were arrested, sometimes violently, and on Black Friday, when seven more were arrested.

The march started with a reading of the “No Justice No Profits Litany." The group also sang “Victory Is Ours” as they made their way through the mall. Stores closed their doors when demonstrators marched by, but the mall itself never closed to shoppers.

The action was declared over by organizers at 3:50 p.m., who dismissed the group with a message of buying from local and black-owned businesses. As most of the group left a group of about fifteen protesters stayed inside the mall and continued to march and protest.

Richmond Heights police issued a dispersal order at 4 p.m., and in a few minutes, almost all the protesters had left the property and all stores were reopened. No arrests were made during the demonstration.

December 3, 2017

Photos by Daniel Shular