Black Lives Matter is LOVE

Yesterday, I was able to participate in the Black Lives Matter Peterborough Rally in the Confederation Park downtown. It felt amazing to be embraced by other amazing people of color and allies for the Black Lives Matter movement. The one thing that stood out to me the most was the smiles on everyone’s faces as we talked about something that mattered to all of us.

 

Thank you to everyone who facilitated this amazing rally. Thank you for creating a safe and respectful space for us to join together and raise awareness.

The rally composed of powerful speeches, heart wrenching poems by Beth Lexah and Niambi Leigh that brought me to tears, a candlelight vigil to show respect to those who have lost their lives to police brutality, and a march through the streets of downtown Peterborough to broadcast our message to other members of the Peterborough community.

There were also members of the Indigenous community who showed their support by singing with us, smudging the space, and engaging with us as we shed light on the injustices that many persons of color, in particular black men and women faced.

This experience will definitely be something that I will never forget. Upon arrival, I was welcomed and provided with a Black Lives Matter T shirt which made me feel right at home. It was great to see people from many walks of life take the time to come and show support to the movement. The signs that they held showcased phrases like, “End the Silence, End the Violence”, “Pulse, Black Lives Matters”, “Unite Against Anti-Black Racism”, “End Immigration Detention”, and so many more.

We walked through the streets saying, “Black & Indigenous Solidarity, Black Lives Matter” and those words felt so right. We were embraced by hello’s, smiles, and waves by the persons we passed.

I guess my hope is that those who still don’t understand the significance of the Black Lives Matter movement can pay attention to what happened yesterday and see that we only want peace and love for ALL persons on this earth and just because something isn’t affecting you directly doesn’t mean it is not happening at all.

It was great to see persons come together in an environment of love, peace, and respect to focus on doing what we can to make our community better, acknowledging that some people have different obstacles facing them due to their skin color, and starting the conversation to say how we can make things better.

If you are unaware or confused about the current social and judicial climate that affects black people and other persons of color  (all ages, all genders, all sexual orientations, all shades, all professions), I really encourage you to watch the following video to get a glimpse into the social injustices and disadvantages that affect the minority community.

Thank you Huffington Post Black Voices,

 

xoxo,

Kyra