by Hedi Skali, Photo Manager
May 31: how I was greeted at my first Black Lives Matter protest: snickering police.
Peacefully watching the protest; the very same BPD almost ran into my friends later that same night.
June 2: I join a crowd walking across Franklin Park to attend the protest.
I find it really cool to see that amidst hundreds of people, people still come without company to stand with the movement.
Hundreds peacefully listen to representatives from Violence in Boston and BLMBoston talk about their own experiences with the BPD. An empowering moment of silence followed.
After the moment of silence, organizers directed us to exit towards the right side of the park to avoid confrontation with the police on the left. Minutes later, the BPD’s motorcycles (without sirens) sped behind us, forcing us out of their way. Armed with batons and tear gas, they then split the protestors, who were peacefully exiting. Intimidation tactics won’t work on this movement.
June 4: Newton held its first protest, where attendees knelt for eight minutes, 46 seconds along Washington Street.
South students march alongside other protestors in a spontaneous, yet passionate march.
Classmates and I organized a protest against the increased funding for the Newton Police Department just a week after my first protest. Pictured here are Roar’s very own Graphics Manager Kaila Hanna and Managing Editor Sophie Lewis, marching along Commonwealth Avenue to City Hall.
