People gather to help clean up following protests, vandalism through downtown Raleigh

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    People gather to help clean up following protests, vandalism through downtown Raleigh, NC (WGHP ) — People were pounding the pavement in downtown Raleigh cleaning up after a night of civil unrest that left windows broken, buildings tagged with graffiti, and saw 14 people arrested for curfew violations.

“We heard all of it last night,” said a girl who identified herself as Hannah. “I was up until maybe 1 or 2 a.m.”

Hannah says as protest broke out across downtown she saw an opportunity to start a conversation with her friends.

“We were texting,” said Hannah. “We were all like, ‘What’s going to happen?’ It’s scary.”

Living downtown, Hannah says she was well aware of the angst that started brewing in her neighborhood prior to the protests.

“It was extremely sad,” said Hannah. “I know throughout the last time my school was destroyed. I don’t agree with the rioting, but the protest is a great thing.”

That’s why her parents made sure she was up bright and early, brush in hand, to take advantage of a valuable teaching lesson.

“I’ve learned a lot about how people come together, and work together, to get to a certain point and break through what’s going on right now,” said Hannah.

Even though she’s still a child, Hannah says it’s obvious that some people took things a bit too far.

“This is where I learn half of the time,” said Hannah. “I don’t learn in a classroom. I learn in a city, and that can’t happen when there’s no city to learn in.”

That’s why she had this emotional plea to protestors ahead of another night of planned protests.

“We should stick to peaceful protests,” said Hannah. “We should not do this.”

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