Sadly, that nonviolent show of unity was followed by unsanctioned violence, intimidation and threats of violence. A driver brandished a gun before driving forward into the crowd Sunday. Police had to use tear gas and pepper balls Sunday and Monday to stop unruly crowds that were vandalizing property. Neither of those incidents were approved by protest organizers, and neither speaks for the people of Tulsa.

We don’t condone violence. We don’t want people hurt or threatened. We don’t like the odor of tear gas in our air or the sight of broken glass on our streets.

But we recognize that the peaceful protesters have a simple and appropriate message that everyone should embrace: The lives of black Americans must be safe from police brutality.

We believe the only way to ensure that is through systemic change.

The Minneapolis killing of George Floyd after a police officer cut off his airway with a knee has pushed people worldwide to take to the streets. It was the latest in an appalling list of police killings of black people.

Don’t be distracted by the images of destruction. Don’t find excuses not to take protesters seriously.

This moment of outrage has been a simmering stew of frustration and indignation for decades. In Tulsa, it has been brewing since 35 blocks of black-owned businesses and homes were set on fire and scores of residents were murdered in a race massacre nearly a century ago.

This is bigger than Floyd. It is about the resistance to change in the status quo.

On Monday, Mayor G.T. Bynum agreed to important policy points of local protest organizers — ending the city’s participation in the “Live PD” program on the A&E network, working toward mandated institutional bias and mental health training for police officers and reviving his plan for an Office of Independent Monitor.

We support all these ideas and more.

Brute force won’t stop Tulsa from burning again; rooting out systemic racist practices is the only path forward and the right one.

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