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PHOTOS: It's Not Just Big Cities — Black Lives Matter Protests Rise Up In Texas Towns

Lillian Ayro, a pastor in Waxahachie, Texas, spoke in front of the Ellis County Courthouse during a protest there on Saturday, June 6, 2020.
Stella M. Chávez / KERA News
Lillian Ayro, a pastor in Waxahachie, Texas, spoke in front of the Ellis County Courthouse during a protest there on Saturday, June 6, 2020.

With their courthouse squares, Friday night lights and backing the blue, small Texas towns aren't known as hotbeds of protest. But in the last few days, small cities have been joining in with big cities across the state to demonstrate in support of the Black Live Matter cause.

One North Texas example is Waxahachie — the Ellis County seat is 30 miles south of Dallas with a population of around 38,000, 30 miles south of Dallas. KERA reporter and Waxahachie resident Stella Chávez watched a protest of around 60 people in her hometown on Saturday, almost two weeks since George Floyd's death under the knee of a Minneapolis, Minn., police officer May 25. 

RELATEDWaxahachie, A North Texas Town 'Divided By A Railroad Track,' Marches For Black Lives

Not only have smaller cities been taking to the streets, many have taken to Twitter. Take a look at the protest experiences of Texans from well outside the state's metro areas — some in towns with notably racist histories:

From across Texas

From Red Oak, just north of Waxahachie:

In Vidor, 10 miles from Beaumont and 95 miles east of Houston, in southeast Texas:

Vidor was one of the state's most noted sundown towns and Klu Klux Klan havens in the past.

RELATED | Texas Monthly: A Q&A With the Organizer of the Black Lives Matter March in Vidor

In Alpine, in West Texas, north of Big Bend National Park: 

In Howe, Texas, 56 miles north of Dallas and 25 miles from Oklahoma:

In Jasper, in Deep East Texas:

Jasper made international news after the three white supremacists murdererd James Byrd, Jr., by dragging him from the back of a pick-up truck in 1998. His death was one of the inspirations for the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act, signed by President Barack Obama in 2009.

RELATED | East Texas Town Reflects On James Byrd Jr.'s Dragging Death Ahead Of Last Execution

In Hondo, 40 miles west of San Antonio:

Weatherford, 30 miles west of Fort Worth:

In Stephenville, 80 miles west of Fort Worth:

Christy Robinson works with the KERA's Digital team managing the station's websites and platforms, focusing on content.