More than a thousand people marched in Barrie Thursday in honour of George Floyd and in support of other members of the Black community who have died in police custody.
The Justice For Black Lives protest started at City Hall at 5 p.m. and protesters began walking south on Mulcaster Street before gathering en masse at Meridian Place.
“This was way bigger than we expected," said Shanicka Edwards, one of the organizers of the massive event and one of the speakers at the rally.
"The best part about this crowd is the diversity. It isn’t just the Black community that is fed up any more,” said Edwards. “This is the greater community, this is allies. These are people who have seen the video of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police and they are fed up.”
Floyd, 46, died May 25 in Minneapolis, after a police officer arresting him kneeled on his neck for more than seven minutes as Floyd repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe.
At the end of Thursday's peaceful protest, Edwards called on the crowd to stand in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time the Minneapolis officer kneeled on Floyd’s neck. That officer, along with three others, was fired and four face criminal charges.
Edwards is angry, but she didn’t bring anger or hostility to the event.
“I want understanding for everyone at every level so when we do try to create change, we know why,” said Edwards. “This is just the start, we know this, this is just the start.
"I have more hope than I’ve ever had but this is a long race and we need everyone to keep the conversations going in their homes after the protests and hashtags are over with," she told BarrieToday after the rally.
The protests in the U.S. have now stretched into their 10th night and images from TV and social media have shown violent confrontations between protesters and police with many peaceful moments in between.
While some have claimed racism isn’t as bad in Canada as the U.S., Courtney Peters is not one of them.
“Talk to my white grandfather, who helped to build this city, and what he had to do for me and my siblings," said Peters, who is frustrated to hear politicians and others say there is not systemic racism in this country.
"He had to dress in his military colours, with medals showing and come to our school and yell at teachers and principals who treated me and my siblings unfairly," said Peters. "Yes it is still here and it's always existed.”
After the protest, Barrie Police Chief Kimberley Greenwood issued a statement about the death of George Floyd and the protest. This is her statement:
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week has saddened and shaken our community and our service. It is something that should have never happened. What took place was tragic, untenable and does not reflect the training that Ontario police officers receive.
When we chose a career in policing, we did so to help people, to support our community and to make a difference in people’s lives. The Barrie Police Service holds its members to the highest standards, promoting and facilitating procedures, training and evidence based research to ensure that every member of our Service demonstrates acceptable behaviour.
Today, community members came together for a very important reason and peacefully demonstrated. You had a message to share and your message was clearly heard.
As the Chief of Police, I commend those who participated and those who came to observe. Our community is one that recognizes there are challenges that lie ahead and your Police Service is one that recognizes that diversity and inclusion are vital pieces of what is required to allow us to move forward together.
Barrie is a vibrant and strong community and together, we will collectively work to make it even better.
