Nearly 100 protesters broke out dancing in Friendship Square today at Moscow’s fifth Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest after a march from East Side Park.
The leader of the Moscow Anti-Racism Alliance (MARA) asked the crowd to dance with her after a series of speakers spoke to the crowd, emphasizing love for one another and a sense of community among people of all colors.
Protesters kept the energy high from the beginning of the demonstration. At one point, a boy picked up the megaphone and led chants for the crowd. Many protesters almost sounded like they were singing instead of chanting. Some protesters danced or jumped to the beat of the chants.
“To me, dancing is freedom,” MARA leader Madison Bonet said. “It’s the definition of freedom, an unencumbered ability to just be and move in your own body. I think in protests we focus so closely on the pain and the trauma and, while that is very important, it is equally important to see Black joy and to honor and pay homage to everything my people have given to this country. A lot of which is music and dancing.”
All of the speakers had previously organized BLM protests on the Palouse. JeaDa Lay and Mikailah Thompson organized the LC Valley Black Lives Matter protest while Jason Kennedy helped organize both Pullman protests. Kennedy plans on proposing a BLM mural to the Pullman City Council this week.
The speeches focused on solving hate with continued support of the BLM movement, amplifying the voice of the movement and creating a sense of community among all people.
Lay also emphasized the importance of action beyond petitions and donations, including channeling anger into love and understanding.
“One of the biggest things that I think each of you can do is literally learn how to listen to people,” Lay said. “Really listen to people. Not just Black people, people.”
Kennedy made similar points, discussing unity among BLM supporters and the importance of continued support for the movement.
“People are tired. People are tired of hearing us. People are tired of seeing it in their feeds. They are tired of reading about it in the newspaper and hearing about it in the news. They are bored,” Kennedy said. “I’m not f***ing bored.”
Kennedy said a BLM-inspired mural will be done in Pullman whether the city approves it or not. The mural will serve as a more permanent reminder of the movement after people turn their focus to other priorities, he said.
Bonet said MARA is making plans to present a mural painted by artists of color to the Moscow City Council, similar to what Kennedy is organizing in Pullman.
MARA is a swiftly growing organization which began as a group of friends reaching out to local protesters and organizers about five weeks ago Bonet said MARA will provide updates on its actions through its Facebook page.
“We are working on growing as a group as well,” Bonet said. “The thing about allyship and the thing about this work is that it needs to come from you. We can guide you and we can help you grow in your education and in your allyship and in the unity, but it really needs to come from you at the end of the day.”
MARA obtained a permit for the protest because they wanted to cooperate with the city’s police department as much as possible, Bonet said. MARA is working on bringing awareness, educating community members and putting together a safe space initiative among local businesses for people of color. Bonet was unable to provide more details on the safe space initiative because the project is in the works.
“We want to be an organization in this community that can really get stuff done and really help people,” Bonet said.
Anteia McCollum can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @antxiam5