Black Lives Matter March In Midlothian, Oak Forest: Photos, Video

MIDLOTHIAN/OAK FOREST, IL — Protestors supporting the Black Lives Matter movement marched down streets in Midlothian and Oak Forest on Friday and held a brief rally outside Oak Forest City Hall.

Scroll through the images from atop the article for more scenes from the protest.

Protest organizers changed the route of the march, which was originally set to go down Cicero Avenue, 159th Street and Central Avenue until reaching Oak Forest City Hall. Instead, the last minute change took the march along 147th Street, a few residential streets near Oak Forest High School, to City Hall and then after the rally back east on 155th Street.

A speaker who addressed the crowd in front of the Walgreens in Midlothian at the start of the march, and then again at City Hall, said "some bad things" were happening along 159th and they wanted to avoid it.

A brief confrontation unfolded outside City Hall, where a group of a dozen or so counterprotestors gathered. During the speaker's address, one man said "Why don't you stop committing so many crimes," to which the crowd responded with a "Go home, racist" chant.

At one point, one of the protestors had to be held back by others in the crowd after a counterprotestor declared his belief that Donald Trump is going to win this year's presidential election.

The speaker also gad the crowd kneel for more than eight minutes, the exact amount time George Floyd was pinned down by a knee when he died in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.

Organizing Friday night's event were four alums of Bremen Township High School District 228 schools: Daniel Alejandre, Alexis Cox, Shannon Coyle and Jess Sandoval.

The march was escorted by both Oak Forest and Midlothian police. One Oak Forest police officer was offering cold water to a few of the marchers.

Watch here as the march headed west on 147th Street: