Hundreds of marchers took to the Boston streets Sunday to breathe new life into the fight against police brutality and racism, as protests sparked by the death of George Floyd have begun to wane in recent weeks.
The Boston Unity March, which drew more than 300 people in a walk from Nubian Square in Roxbury to Boston Common on Sunday afternoon, was meant to “respark” the movement for social justice in Boston, said Ernest Jacques, a member of the Freedom Fighters Coalition, which organized the protest.
A Facebook event for the march said the coalition hopes to bring together advocacy groups representing Black, indigenous, and other peoples of color.
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“We hope that everyone here after attending this protest has the action steps that they can take with them when they get home to continue the good fight,” Jacques told the crowd.
Organizers listed several demands on Instagram, including justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Amaud Arbery, and all the victims of police brutality in Greater Boston. The group also called for community-led public safety systems in place of police departments, the abolition of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and a reformed domestic violence response system.
Protesters, many of whom wore black in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement despite the heat, held signs that said “All lives can’t matter until Black lives matter,” and “End Police.”
A large banner near the organizers’ base was painted with the words, “There is no noise as powerful as the sound of the marching feet of a determined people.” Almost everyone at the protest wore masks, and two people at the center of the park handed out cold water and snacks to those feeling fatigued in the hot weather.
Jean-Luc Pierite, president of the Board of the North American Indian Center of Boston and a member of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, emphasized the marchers’ demand that the state pass the Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda and honor the needs of the state’s Black Economic Council.
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He spoke of how the Massachusetts State flag, which bears the visage of a Native American man, symbolizes the state’s oppression of native peoples through laws like the Boston Indian Imprisonment Act, which was repealed only 15 years ago.
“Every time we see that flag we think of all the hurt, all the intergenerational trauma that is associated with that,” he said.
Hawa Hamidou, a 15-year-old from Salem and member of Solidarity North Shore, challenged community members on the North Shore to face segregation in their neighborhoods. She called on Salem city councilors to cut the police budget.
“In these communities, Black, indigenous, and people of color voices are silenced and gaslighted to make us feel irrational for experiencing and speaking on oppression,” she said.
Around 3:45 p.m., the crowd began the march toward the Boston Common. On the way they chanted “Out of the house and into the streets” and “No justice, no peace!”
A couple of speakers expressed support for the protesters in Portland, Ore., where federal agents clashed with citizens.
Hope Coleman, the mother of Terrence Coleman, a Black man who was fatally shot by police in the South End in 2016, spoke to the crowd about her son’s killing three times during the rally. She asked protesters to continue their demands to reopen cases of police violence in the city.
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“I called [911] for help, not to kill my son,” she said
Protestors stopped to “boo” a white family inside an establishment near Clarendon and Tremont Street that gave marchers a thumbs down. Several other people along the route honked or waved at the protestors in support.
Elizabeth Monteiro, a domestic violence advocate who has lived in the city for more than 40 years, spoke about her experience as the survivor of abuse. The state must declare domestic abuse a public health crisis, she said
“Children are growing up without mothers and fathers because they were told to follow a simple protocol that really doesn’t work,” she said. “They told me to leave [my abuser], but leave him and go where?” she said.
At 6:40 p.m., the protesters arrived at the State House where representatives from an organization called Cosecha have been camped out for 10 days. The group hopes to encourage legislatures to allow undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses.
Andrea Schmid translated Spanish for a woman named Edy, who represents Cosecha and lives in East Boston.
“We know they’re listening to us right now,” Schmid said pointing to the State House. “And we want them to understand that all of us together, with the power we have built, are stronger than what they’re doing in there.”
The march wrapped up around 7:30 p.m. without incident. One protester stayed for a few extra minutes to shout at two police officers near the State House, though he eventually walked away.
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Abigail Feldman can be reached at abigail.feldman@globe.com.
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