GREENSBORO, N.C. — He was the last man standing, or sitting, as the case was. Viewers have asked about that lone protester who was sitting on the General Nathanael Greene statue Monday night.
We all discovered him together, live on our Facebook feed just before the police got him down, and arrested him.
Greensboro police, with the help of the fire department, used a ladder truck to get Malik Davis down peacefully and took him into custody for violating curfew. Davis was released on a $500 bond.
WFMY spoke to Davis after his release to learn more about why he chose to protest at the statue.
"I was fearful from the second I walked out of my door knowing what I was going to do," said Hawaii-born Malik Davis.
Davis has lived in North Carolina since he was in middle school and moved to Greensboro three years ago.
"I went to Coastal Carolina Community College, East Carolina University and I am now attending GTCC. My majors are Sociology, Philosophy, and Construction Management. This was my first time being arrested for protesting and I started protesting this Saturday with the peaceful march from downtown to the interstate on Sunday," said Davis.
"I’m also an Uber Eats driver who can no longer work due to my arrest. It was absolutely worth it for the message," he added.
Viewers watched live as police in riot gear walked past Davis who was then spotted atop the base of the statue. WFMY News 2's Adaure Achumba chatted with him while he was seated cross-legged with two bottles of water. He said he had planned to stay there all night.
Davis told us he chose a different way to protest on Monday night.
Instead of marching along with 50 others who defied the curfew and drew police into a show of force to push them back, Davis climbed on the Nathanael Greene statue to protest the violence and the 8 p.m. curfew imposed by the City of Greensboro.
"I climbed up that statue and sat there for a peaceful protest, trying to show an example of what a peaceful protest can be," said Davis.
"It is possible and it doesn't have to be violent," said Davis who hoped both police and those protesting would learn from his actions.
Davis said he was moved by what happened to George Floyd and many black people across the U.S. and wanted to speak up again police brutality and racial injustice.
"Walking outside my house, I might get shot because of the color of my skin and that's something that some people don't really understand. They don't realize that I'm just trying to have a conversation about this," he added while standing outside the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.
It's a conversation he's familiar with at home and says it's his duty to lend his voice to the community's common cause.
"My family lives in Jacksonville, North Carolina. My father is military and he served his country for 30 years and that's one of the reasons I went and did this," he said.
Davis said he has experienced racial profiling and harassment from police, but said he's always had a great relationship with the Greensboro police officers.
He said he applauds the way the officers engaged him before eventually arresting him. Several officers had come up to him to negotiate and talk him into coming down himself. He said some of them were even cracking jokes with him. But Davis stayed there for two hours before a ladder truck from the Greensboro Fire department arrived.
"That situation could have gone so many different ways, and what I'm trying to do is show people that even though we're living in chaos and fear, we can rise above that," said Davis.
Davis was charged with violating the curfew and will be in court in September. He could be fined $500.
There were three other protesters who were arrested Monday night.