MILTON, Mass. — It was a very diverse crowd; not just races but age groups. A lot of young kids held signs and marched 1.2 miles starting at the Parkway Methodist Church in Milton and ending at Walker Park in Mattapan, all in honor of George Floyd.
It was a simple unified message from hundreds of people, “All lives can’t matter until Black lives matter.” Still, if the loud chants and marches didn’t get that message across, maybe 9 minutes and 29 seconds of silence would.
“It was the first time I ever did it,” said Adira Flacks-Dunning. “It definitely meant something. Everybody should understand that ‘Black lives matter’ means something and not just ignore it.”
With so many young kids holding signs and speaking out, the rally provided a lot of hope for the future.
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“Because stuff keeps happening, bad stuff keeps happening,” said Jeremiah Bucoste.
There’s a lot that goes through your mind in 9 minutes and 29 seconds.
“It’s quite personal, it has to do with my children’s future and safety,” said Johanna Flacks-Dunning. “George Floyd’s life cannot be the end, it needs to be the beginning. We who believe in freedom cannot rest, we need to make it safer for my son and for everyone’s son.”
The diverse group acknowledged some progress in consciousness on the first anniversary of George Floyd’s murder but said there is more work to be done. They wanted to make sure the message was heard and that the protests won’t stop until all lives truly matter.
“This doesn’t end with the march, we have to be making sure that we have representation in government, we have teachers that represent demographics and role models that are integral for our students. So no, not enough progress. There were close to 200 Black people who have been killed since George Floyd, but they didn’t have a camera on them,” said Karen Groce-Horan of Courageous Conversation Towards Racial Justice.
“People don’t even know. These are our relatives, but this goes on and unfortunately so; that’s why we’re here.”
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