<p>A diverse group of more than 90 people marched from Vineyard Haven to Oak Bluffs Saturday in a peaceful protest to call attention to recent deaths of African American men.</p>
A diverse group of more than 90 people marched from Vineyard Haven to Oak Bluffs Saturday morning in a peaceful protest to call attention to the recent deaths of African American men by police officers during traffic stops, pedestrian stops, or while in police custody.
Marchers of all ages gathered at Ocean Park.
Marchers of all ages gathered at Ocean Park.
The marchers ranged in age from infants in strollers to those approaching 80 years old. Many in the crowd held signs and chanted “black lives matter,” as they marched under a broiling sun, and received honks of appreciation from passing motorists. The Lagoon Pond bridge tender offered a horn blast as the group marched across the drawbridge.
It took the group about an hour and 20 minutes to reach the bandstand in Ocean Park.
Mathea Morais of Chilmark carried a sign that said “White Silence Equals Violence.” She helped organize the march, mostly through social media.
“I was looking at a lot of Facebook posts, people were really upset,” she said. “A lot of people expressed outrage. I reached out to a group of moms. I am the mother of three mixed children. I grew up in St. Louis, where Michael Brown was killed. All this feels very close to home.” Mr. Brown was shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. in 2014, an incident that sparked widespread protests and a U.S. Justice Department investigation.
Marchers said they participated to show their frustration, and support.
Marchers said they participated to show their frustration, and support.
Several marchers Saturday expressed frustration and said they marched because they felt a need to demonstrate their concern.
“Being that I am a black male, and being able to benefit from the privilege of living in an environment where black lives are not at risk, it’s my obligation to do something,” said Zion Morris, who grew up in Edgartown and now lives in New York. He carried a sign that said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Another marcher, a seasonal resident of Oak Bluffs, said she was concerned about her three teenaged nephews staying safe.
“I truly think that all lives matter,” she said. “But when you shine the light on what has been happening for decades in the black community, you can’t really say all lives matter. What we’ve been dealing with is historical, it happens all the time.”
She added that social media has brought the issue to the forefront in recent years because of the proliferation of mobile phone cameras.
“There’s always two sides to the story, but at least you get to see the other side,” she said.
Editor’s Note: The Gazette has received a large volume of anonymous comments on this story. Some have not been published. From this point on, we respectfully ask commenters to please use a first and last name and town of residence in order to be considered for publication.
Comments
Where's the march to honor
Alexander Paul ChilmarkWhere's the march to honor the police that lost their lives?
If you organize one, you will
Trish Basford DetroitIf you organize one, you will surely have people marching. YOU can make it happen!
A march is not necessary
Michelle Underwood Oak BluffsA march is not necessary because those officers will receive justice.
Indeed!
Leesa Hough ProvidenceIndeed!
Yes, black lives do matter.
Sue West Tisbury.Yes, black lives do matter. In fact, all lives, races, ethnicities and nationalities matter. Why are none of these people holding signs that say police lives matter, after the cold blooded killing of 5 police officers in Texas which was at the hands of a black man? Is this acceptable to you people? Do their lives not matter? Only black lives matter to you? I would call that racism.
The question should be is why
RonThe question should be is why are you not holding a sign for anything? You are criticizing a people who actually when out to make social change in this obviously illed world we live in. The only thing that you did was get upset that they didn't do what you thought they should do.
All lives matter!! God Bless
Very Annoyed Vineyard HavenAll lives matter!! God Bless to the police who were gunned down.
If All Lives Matter, then
Michelle Underwood Oak BluffsIf All Lives Matter, then where are your blessings to the black lives lost as well?
Thank you everyone who
Kara Walsh ChilmarkThank you everyone who marched! Black lives matter. And they can matter and be recognized in their own right, without having to recognize any other population at the same time. Thank you for bringing awareness to the community.
In answer to your question, I
Talia Oak BluffsIn answer to your question, I encourage you, and anyone else who is STILL confused about why we need to be fighting for BLACK lives to matter right now, to read this article/blog written by an American, white male (who is clearly easier to listen to, due largely to his skin color, for many people) And simply because I am too tired to keep answering the same question of why we need to be fighting for black lives, rather than "all lives" or "blue lives" (by the way those lives DO matter... Clearly, much more than black ones, at the moment) If you can read this blog post, and really attempt to internalize and understand it and STILL somehow think protests such as this one, and other #blavklivesmatter protests are "racist" (which is impossible by the way, seeing that the term racist means prejudice plus POWER, which black people lack in our country. So although black people can be prejudice, or hateful they cannot truly be "racist" because of their lack of power on the whole.) than quite frankly, you may never understand. But I hope that by reading this, and perhaps other things out there attempting to educate people, you can see that the reason people are needing to fight for black lives to matter is simply that they DON'T on the whole, in our country. People are literally saying, "stop killing us, for no reason, other than our skin color, and other people, such as yourselves are saying "BUT".... Do you not see the problem in that??? Please, PLEASE attempt to see your OWN racism and ignorance and help change it. I feel I should say that I am white. And privileged by that fact. And never have to worry about losing my life at the hands of a cop, because of the color of my skin. I am white and attempting to fight for #blacklives, because I recognize that I HAVE TO. I hope you can too, whoever you are.
https://beyondtheglasswall.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/why-im-a-racist/
Well said Talia, I am
Camellia White BostonWell said Talia, I am grieving like most of us are grieving for those police officers in Dallas. Their lives would not have been taken if "Black Lives Mattered." Now that frustrated "crazy" black people are retaliating, the Black Lives Matter movement is racist? I don't get why it's so difficult for some people to understand the purpose of the movement.
Please, everyone. When a
Michelle Jasny west tisburyPlease, everyone. When a group marches in support of, say, Breast Cancer awareness, no one thinks the marchers don't care about other kinds of cancer. When a group organizes the CROP walk to focus on hunger, no one thinks the walkers don't care about other issues related to poverty. When people have an event to highlight the need for clean water, no one says "they don't care about clean air." As one of those that walked yesterday, I implore you all to understand that this is not about one group against the other. It's about acknowledging and healing from centuries of oppression of people of color in our country.
This seems to sum up my
Alma Ivor-Campbell Bristol, RIThis seems to sum up my feelings pretty well. When I first heard the term "Black Lives Matter" I did not automatically thingk all lives matter or police matter. It just seemed to me that people not looking like me were very frustrated and needing a pithy way to show it. Good luck to us all.
Please, everyone. When a
Michelle Jasny west tisburyPlease, everyone. When a group marches in support of, say, Breast Cancer awareness, no one thinks the marchers don't care about other kinds of cancer. When a group organizes the CROP walk to focus on hunger, no one thinks the walkers don't care about other issues related to poverty. When people have an event to highlight the need for clean water, no one says "they don't care about clean air." As one of those that walked yesterday, I implore you all to understand that this is not about one group against the other. It's about acknowledging and healing from centuries of oppression of people of color in our country.
Hi Sue: Look at it like this.
Jack Bolton, Ct.Hi Sue: Look at it like this. I support the American Heart Association and if you see me on a walk wearing a sign of suport, please don't assume that I am marching against St. Jude's Children's hospital.
Enough with the "i support
Gracie Wilcox VHEnough with the "i support this that doesn't mean I don't support that" theory. It's been said. Enough. You're not bringing new info to the table, you're just regurgitating what you've heard. Be an individual and come up with something new.
Well said. But let's think
Matt Hilchrest BostonWell said. But let's think it all the way through. The rallies for the American Heart Association don't end in the shooting deaths of the workers at Saint Jude's. Surely you can see that if they did, there in fact would be exactly the same sort of concern as is being expressed here. Baton Rouge police officer Montrell Jackson is dead. He was black. His black life mattered, and his son will grow up fatherless. It's the sort of 'progress' I hope you can understand some real concerns about. It's just a touch too glib to compare this movement, and its wide ranging effects with PTA fundraisers and other sorts of community causes.
So much hate...the statement
Ken EdgartownSo much hate...the statement Black Lives Matter means...that black lives matter too. A concept far too many people (including some police) in this country fail to comprehend and abide by.
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
Sue, please try to take a
Nicole EdgartownSue, please try to take a step back. Police lives matter AND black lives matter. These things are not mutually exclusive.
African-Americans couldn't
Daniel PhelanAfrican-Americans couldn't even vote 60 years ago. Only through peaceful disruption and protest did they erode the institutional racism that limited their rights. They blocked roads and marched from city to city. They ate at diners and sat on buses where they were traditionally not allowed. It took years and years of disruption before the system finally gave them some semblance of justice.
It is very disheartening to see the many ignorant comments in this post decrying such civil disobedience as "terrorism" and confused exclamations that "all" lives matter. Especially so considering that Massachusetts is supposed to be one of the most educated areas in the country. Clearly many of the citizens posting here have disavowed their ability to reason and allowed the partisan opinions of a few talking heads on the television supplant their own thoughtfully derived considerations of what is going on in our country.
It is a matter of fact that police kill more people in our country than many other modern democracies combined. This is extrajudicial execution and it is a serious problem. The black lives matter movement seeks to shine a light on this injustice. They don't claim that other lives do not matter. They don't claim that other communities are not facing the same injustice. They do however have a history of winning freedoms and rights through demonstration, and bending the moral arc, if ever so slowly, toward justice.
I as a reasonable and compassionate citizen of this great country will stand and march with them.
People. By saying "black
Amy EarthPeople. By saying "black lives matter" they aren't saying other lives don't matter. Of course all lives matter. But history shows us that black lives haven't mattered. Wake up!
When one of my children feels
Robert Dutton Oak BluffsWhen one of my children feels like the world has been cruel to her that day and needs a little extra love to soothe her wounded spirit, my other daughter does not feel like she is denied my love but, rather, that it's needed elsewhere at the moment and that she's mature enough to understand that I am doing the right thing by focusing my attention where it needs to be to help make our family more than just a bunch of people living in the same home.
I fear that that maturity is absent in much of our society, denying all of us the sense of community, harmony and family that we really need today in lieu of the self-importance, ego and divisiveness too many take as the status quo.
This nation (and world) can be a family if we all learn to realize that it requires us to drop the attitude that giving attention to those who momentarily need more is, somehow, the denial of attention to others. That's not how love works.
Peace and Love.Peace and Love
Richard Starkey Up-IslandPeace and Love.Peace and Love.
How would people react if
John Aldeborgh EdgartownHow would people react if there saw a group of protesters marching through NYC with signs that said White Lives Matter and showed a clenched fist held high. My guess is this would be the top news story on NBC calling the protesters Racist and White Supremacists. Honestly, I would probably agree with that sentiment, in the absence of more data. Most importantly, how would this possible help bring people together. This BLM movement may be changing the world but not in a positive way given all the innocent people that are dying, not to mention no one is protesting Black on Black killing, which is far more devastating numerically to the black community. Is a innocent black man killed by an white cop, for any reason, more tragic than a innocent black man killed by another black man, for any reason, I would hope not. If you believe the answer is yes, then in my mind, you are a racist by definition. I would hope that all people feel that the killing of any innocent human being is equally tragic, without exception.
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