Marches For Caribbeans, Black And Trans Lives Standing In Solidarity
Cover and Photo by Cassell Ferere. Freedom March NYC walks down to City Hall, Manhattan.
Written by Cassell Ferere
A weekend of rallies and marches throughout Brooklyn and New York City this past weekend has set the city on fire.
Thousands gathered for many different marches for reasons all about the Black Lives Matter movement. On Saturday, groups march for Freedom from Time Square down to City hall in efforts to encourage voting. Another group of roughly ten thousand people gathered and marched for Black Excellence from Grand Army Plaza into Manhattan.
Sunday was a day of Liberation for the Black Trans community coming together in the thousands at Brooklyn Museum in a sea of white to represent solidarity as they protested a silent march into the island of Manhattan.
And just up the road, the Black Caribbean community gathered as they celebrated their uprising and liberation, in support of Black Lives Matter, which gave a West Indian Day Parade preview, as the flags of Caribbean countries could be seen and music could be heard in the surrounding area, and people danced in a group of hundreds to thousands of people later in the evening.
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We Rally For Justice
As the city was hit with familiar summer weather, primed for day outings am d beach day-cations, forgoing the opportunity many chose to be a part of a much more heated issue that has been an important stepping stone and ongoing need for equal justice, respect, and equity for Black lives here in America, since the inception of America.
As the different groups gathered the message was still the same. Black Lives Matter and they are to be seen, recognized, and most definitely heard. Not a step was wasted in these marches, and voices of organizers and supporters were heard loud and clear.
Freedom March NYC
The Freedom March on Saturday morning was lead by activist and organizer, Chelsea Miller, Columbia alumni, and her 17-year-old protege, Nia White. They were supported by fellow Columbia alum, Ty Holmes, activist Mario Rosser, and Sam White, as well as Plus1Vote founder and activist Saad Amer.
Marching from Times Square down to City Hall, they chanted and had moments of silence for those who have lost their lives to senseless white nationalist violence and police brutality. The time spent at City Hall was focused around Chelsea’s plan to better Black communities through legislation, also conveying the importance of voting and encouraging others to do the same in their communities.
Black Excellence
That Saturday afternoon, A Black Excellence rally and march for justice and peace were organized by event organizer and Influencer, Correy K. The estimated ten thousand people gathered at grand army plaza and after some words from activists and prominent participants.
They marched across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan sending a message of unity and requiring a change from political leaders in New York City and nationwide.
Familiar chants for justice in exchange for peace were heard on the steps of legislative buildings in lower Manhattan adding to the flames that have been sparking across America and the world against racial injustice and the treatment of Black people by governments and law enforcement alike.
Caribbean Americans for Justice
Sunday afternoon, the Caribbean Americans for Justice march and rally, lead by Rickford Burke, president of the Guyana Institute for Democracy, gathered in Brooklyn, their home base. Meeting at Flatbush avenue and Church avenue, the hundreds of people from and of Caribbean background, marched down Flatbush Avenue to the rally point at Grand Army Plaza where they demonstrated their “solidarity with African Americans, and other Americans who reject police brutality, racism, and injustice,” said Burke.
Embracing the loss of George Floyd, this rally was a demand for reform and legislative action to ensure the safety of Black lives here in America.
Brooklyn Liberation Action for Black Trans Lives
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Down the road from Grand Army Plaza was a sea of white as members and supporters of the LGBTQ gathered outside the Brooklyn Museum on Eastern Parkway for the Brooklyn Liberation Action for Black Trans Lives. The rally hosted several activists, including Raquel Willis, Jushua Obawole, and Ianne Fields Stewart of The Okra Project to name a few, which was a galvanized effort to amplify Black Queer and Trans voices amongst the Black Lives Matter movement.
Supported by The Marsha P. Johnson Institute, this silent march made its way toward Manhattan with some thousand people in tow.
Justice For Peace
This past weekend was in honor of those who have lost their lives to police brutality, including Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the many others from the past and those who are being murdered by police and vigilantes still.
Unity among the community is apparent and these voices are being heard but there is much more that has to be down to ensure the safety, equality, and equity of Black people here in America and around the world, as seen by the worldwide protest in solidarity with the protest happening here in America.
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