Monday, May 18, 2020

'Future Hope' Column: Opening Up for Demonstrations

The shooting of Ahmaud Arbery.

By Ted Glick

Last Wednesday I participated in the first, out-of-my-car demonstration I’ve been part of in over two months. No, I didn’t join one of the Trump 2020 ones with people right next to each other without masks holding AR-15s, swastikas and confederate flags. Just the opposite, really, in every way.

This demonstration in Newark, NJ organized by the People’s Organization for Progress was called to demand that the white racists responsible for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Ga. be prosecuted. This would include not just those who chased him down and pulled the trigger but those in local law enforcement who conspired to keep them from being brought to justice for over two months.

At our demonstration in Newark people wore facemasks and gloves, as instructed to do by the organizers. When I arrived there were x’s chalked on the pavement six feet apart where people were told to stand. Following a brief rally, the 50 or so of us marched about a mile through downtown Newark, single file and 6 feet apart.

In truth, there was some slippage of these rules during the march. A handful of people, from what I saw, got closer than six feet as it went on. And though everyone had a facemask, a minority weren’t wearing gloves.

In Brunswick, Ga. on Saturday there was a larger demonstration of many hundreds marching to: “the Glynn County courthouse demanding accountability for a case in which charges weren’t filed until state officials stepped in after a leaked video sparked national outrage,” according to an Associated Press article.

The article reports that people taking part in the demonstration wore facemasks and were told by organizers to practice social distancing, but during the march some ended up marching side by side.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: tedglick.com

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