After the recent death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, there have been protests and vigils around the world attempting to make positive change to the systemic racism across the US. There are plenty of opportunities to join in solidarity locally.
Local Protests
Whether for George Floyd, or Black Lives Matter, or for reducing police-initiated violence, virtually every town near us has been having protests in some ways. Here are some of the ones in and around Arlington.
- Arlington Stand in Solidarity - 6-7PM every night, continuing, all along Mass Ave. Started by Isa Dray, AHS Grad, and continued by other grads and teens alike, this appears to be growing nightly.
- Belmont Virtual Unity Vigil, Thursday June 4th, 2020 7pm Starts as an online viewing of streamed talks from town officials and local leaders, Belmontonians will light candles at home afterwards.
- Somerville is Standing in Solidarity around Davis Square tonight (Wednesday) from 4PM-5:30PM.
- Watertown has held a vigil in Watertown Square
- Lexington held a vigil along Mass Ave
I’m sure there are more events - if you have them for towns immediately adjacent to Arlington, let me know and I’ll add pointers.
Local Government Statements
Police departments and town governments alike are making statements condemning George Floyd’s murder, as well as discussing their actions to improve local policing.
- Arlington Town Issues Statement Regarding Death of George Floyd and Actions of Minneapolis Police
- Lexington’s Joint Statement On Recent Hate Crimes
- Cambridge Police Issue Statement Following the Death of George Floyd and the Actions It is Committed to Taking
- Somerville Statement from Mayor Curtatone on the Killing of George Floyd and Somerville police department initiatives based on Campaign Zero and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley’s recommendations.
- Medford Statement of Chief Jack D. Buckley on the Death of George Floyd (PDF link)
- Burlington Statement from Chief Kent on the killing of George Floyd
- Watertown Police Chief Statement
- Waltham Police Chief Letter To Residents
Advocacy Resources
There are plenty of different advocacy groups out there, here are just a couple of the key ones that I’ve been following.
- Arlington Fights Racism is a local group with a slate of candidates in our current election.
- Black Lives Matter is a key international coordinating group for racial justice with a local Boston chapter.
- Campaign Zero is a group working to end police violence, with a number of sub-projects focused on specific areas.
This will be (and has been, since the founding of the US) a long and painful process. The key will be to use this pain, energy, and international attention and pivot to effective changes that will make the lasting systemic impacts needed in both our governments (at all levels) and our culture.