Scenes from Black Lives Matter protests along 30A.

There were three entirely peaceful Black Lives Matter protests near 30A this past Sunday - a march in Grayton Beach organized by Jalen Jones, a student-led protest in Gulf Place, and a protest in Inlet Beach organized by Ivy Tinker. I attended the march in Grayton Beach. Afterwards, I tried to go to the one in Gulf Place, but it had ended right as I arrived, so I ended up at the Inlet Beach protest, on the sidewalk by the intersection (near Shades restaurant). All but one of these images are from the Grayton march, with the last image being of the Inlet protest.
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Before the march began, Jalen gave a speech about why we were marching (listing several relevant names - Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd), speaking about systemic racism, as well as ending with an acknowledgement of God, for being the reason we were all able to gather and march as we did, and a prayer.
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One of these pictures shows Jalen engaging in conversation with a man toting a confederate flag on his SUV. This man was not antagonistic or disrespectful, and was simply there to show his views just as we were, according to Jalen himself (video explaining the conversation on his Facebook page).
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Aside from that, we were met with support as people watched us march or drove by, with several thumbs-ups, honks, and shouts of support. Once on the sand, we gathered to hear speeches from not only Jalen, but also from Markissa Miller, a highschool student explaining her experience with racism, and by Janice Welch, a local woman who talked about her experiences being pulled over by police. We closed with a short speech by Simple Faith Church pastor Ronnie McBrayer, who also closed us with the Lord’s Prayer. It wasn’t just us gathered, however - a large number of beachgoers walked over and listened, respectfully, to what everyone had to say.
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The last image is a far-away view of the protest in Inlet Beach. I promise there were a lot more people there than shown. Occasionally, someone would drive by and yell something racist or profane, but most people who passed would show support by honking their horn, giving thumbs-up, or cheering.
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All lives cannot matter until black lives matter too. Ways to help: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/