SEATTLE — On Friday, state and local leaders will speak at Judkins Park in Seattle during a rally event called The Next Steps.
Rally organizers say Friday's event is an opportunity for people to listen and learn about ways they can promote change and help support the Black Lives Matter movement.
The event is organized by the non-profit Not This Time.
"People are now wondering what's next? Once they've done the marching, people wonder if this all that it takes?" said Andre Taylor, who leads Not This Time, "It's not all that it takes. There's a lot more than has to be done."
Following the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by police in Minneapolis, thousands in Washington state have come out to march in support of the Black Live Matter movement. Taylor believes it's time to take the momentum and use it as an opportunity to educate people about change.
He said Friday's event, scheduled on Juneteenth, will be about putting forth a united message.
"[Washingtonians] are leaders and we're going to have to act like that. In order to act like that you have to be conscientious about what's going on around you because anybody that's coming to disrupt our unity they are outliers," said Taylor, "We all need to take an important part in that process and make sure that no one is distracting us from the unity that Washington led in police accountability and the unity that we will lead in building upon that for the rest of the country."
In 2018, Taylor said Washington state led the nation in police accountability by passing Initiative 940, which requires police training to de-escalate volatile situations and avoid the use of deadly force. Taylor believe this is one example of why Washington state can lead the nation in further police reform.
Friday's rally event will be at Judkins Park starting at 1 p.m.