BOSTON — More than a hundred people gathered at Copley Square in Boston Saturday night to listen to live music, dance, and call for justice in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake.
The “Rally for Black Lives, Black Voices and Jacob Blake” was held by the Civic Youth Summit, an organization that encourages young people to create positive change.
Several speakers called for cases involving police violence to be reopened and re-examined.
“Justice is justice. Wrong is wrong. No matter what the reason is, or no matter the position that you’re in,” said Simba Scott, one attendee from Boston.
Event organizer Danny Rivera told Boston 25 News that the goal of the rally was to offer a space of healing through art. After watching the video of the shooting of Jacob Blake, he said the need for healing was personal.
:quality(70)/d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/05-21-2020/t_2b9c9292d8004808b698e9e3282544bc_name_TIDFIYSFINFIZN6T5JB5Q7TN6E.png)
“I was stunned and shocked and disgusted by what I saw, and the lack of humanity and consideration and empathy from those officers,” said Rivera. “I was traumatized. This has not just affected me physically, it’s affected me mentally, spiritually, and it’s messed with my ability to even create art.”
Art was created on the spot, with activists pasting photos of Jacob Blake, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and other police shooting victims onto the ground.
Update: This is a look at the finished product. Photos of Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Jacob Blake, & more have been pasted to the ground at Copley. @boston25 pic.twitter.com/Jj4IFvoxqa
— Kirsten Glavin (@kirstenglavin) September 5, 2020
“I am a full-on activist, I stand for equality, and I feel like it’s really cool to see artists express that through their art,” said Cassia Spencer of Boston.
Boston City Councilor At-Large, Julia Mejia, was also in attendance and spoke to the crowd about voter suppression and the power of one’s voice.
Other speakers called for re-envisioning the role of law enforcement, wanting that money placed into social programs that would help the black community.
“Prioritize what’s important, and that’s the lives of black and brown young kids, grown adults, and all of us as a community,” said Rivera. “Right now we’re funding the thing that’s killing us.”
Black Lives Matter and Back the Blue: An interview with both sides
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/HI2HKCBXTVB7XGR6DSBPUOFZRU.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/Y3FEGWMEPVAMJMOMUW7ZXBK6GQ.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/FXTUNGOH5JDMRLTAWC4BG3TTEY.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/3YKT4PWELFH35LJJSL6WBKITWA.PNG)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/TEXVH7M2OJCDFCXHK52I3NV2QY.jpg)