Thousands attend march in city
Charlottetown streets filled with thousands of marchers
In the largest march for racial justice in Charlottetown’s history, thousands marched in the city's streets in solidarity with Black Lives Matter actions across North America.
People in the crowds, which skewed heavily towards younger people, wore cloth and surgical masks, often doing their best to maintain physical distancing. Organizers estimated the size of the crowd to be between 2,500 and 3,500.
The march stretched around several city blocks, snaking from the Coles Building down Grafton Street and eventually stopping at Rochford Square.
Organizers of Friday’s march expressed solidarity with indigenous people in Canada, beginning all speeches with an acknowledgement of the event taking place on unceded Mi’kmaq territory.
Homemade signs bore the names of black people who have been killed by police, such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The crowd also held a moment of silence for Regis Korchinski-Paquet, an Afro-indigenous woman who recently fell to her death from a Toronto apartment after police were called to her home.
Organizers stated several times that racism is very present in P.E.I.
“For those that say racism doesn’t exist in P.E.I., it does,” Jasper, one of the event's organizers, said in a speech.
“This place is diverse but it’s not inclusive.”
"For those who say it's an American thing, I want us to remember that racism exists in different forms in different countries," said Daniel
Ohaegbo, another speaker.
Ohaegbo said police violence targeted against black people happens too often in North America to be “just a few bad apples".
"Generation after generation, they continue to do it and get away with it. Nothing ever happens until people start protesting,” Ohaegbo said.
Paul Amba, a political science student at UPEI, happened upon the march while out for a bike ride on Fitzroy Street. Amba said the march was a positive thing to see in P.E.I., but he had his doubts whether it alone would change things.
"What actually is going to change is black people being in a situation of political power. We need to smarten up. This doesn't change anything, but it's necessary," Amba said.
He said there is often systemic racism in the workforce. He spoke about being “limited” in being able to get involved in local politics.
"If I was to get involved, it would have to be from a diversity perspective, where they would be like 'oh yeah, we need a black person to be here just so everyone knows black lives matter'," Amba said.
"But besides that, it's not going to happen."
Many attendees spoke about the way that outward and systematic racism exists in P.E.I. Some spoke about racist comments directed at their children by other children in schools. Others talked about a lack of jobs or economic opportunities for black people or minorities in P.E.I.
Some talked about the experiences black students or international students face at UPEI. Fewer direct criticisms were levelled at local policing issues in P.E.I.
Joshua Biggley attended the march with his family because he believes systematic racism was wrong.
But he said he has concerns about the collection of private information of citizens by police in P.E.I.
Biggley said he received a $300 fine, related to late renewal of his car registration, due to a vehicle-mounted automated licence plate reader.
The cameras have been used by Charlottetown Police Services for more than a year.
In the past, he has criticized the use of the cameras, which he believes collect information on a presumptive basis.
"I actually have a yet-tobe-finalized complaint into the privacy commissioner," Biggley said.
Rochford Square, where the march finished, has an eerie significance in the history of black Islanders.
The square was a stone’s throw from the site of the killing of George Kelly, a 16-year-old black boy who was murdered by two white men on Aug. 14, 1878. Two men were tried but found not guilty despite the presence of multiple witnesses.