Victoria rally planned for today
Thousands of people are expected to gather at Centennial Square this afternoon for a rally to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Peace Rally for Black Lives is also billed as a vigil for George Floyd, a black man who was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25. Derek Chauvin, the officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes while Floyd said he couldn’t breathe, and witnesses begged him to stop, has been charged with seconddegree murder.
Video footage of Floyd’s death has sparked protests across the U.S., Canada and the world against police brutality and the killing of unarmed black people at the hands of police officers.
The Victoria event’s three organizers said the rally is a chance to bring the black community in the city together and a call to action for allies.
“This is an opportunity for me to be present within my blackness and my blackness alone. It’s an opportunity for me to meet my community. It’s an opportunity for me to mourn with my community,” said co-organizer Asiyah Robinson.
Vanessa Simon organized a similar rally and vigil on Monday and was amazed at the crowd that turned out. She said today’s rally sends a message to the black community that they’re not alone and is a reminder to others that racism exists in Victoria.
“Even though things are less aggressive here, racism still happens here. And there is a black community here,” she said.
Organizers are asking people to wear black for solidarity or white for peace.
While many of the protests in the U.S. have seen hostile interactions between police and protesters, organizers Robinson, Simon and Pam Buisa said they’ve spoken to Victoria Police Chief Del Manak, who expressed his support for the event.
“He reached out and it was amazing to see that show of support,” Robinson said.
But they’ve let the chief know they’d prefer if he didn’t attend the rally, because his presence even out of uniform could be triggering for people.
“What it came down to was that this event is for black people. It’s for Indigenous people and for those marginalized communities that have constantly been oppressed. “And sometimes, yes, by police, and by the systemic racism, and by the problems that we have in society that these institutions promote,” Robinson said. “And so, it was important for us to make sure that this event is honouring black voices, and therefore making blacks feel safe, and therefore ensuring that police are not involved.”
Manak said he personally reached out to organizers to gauge their comfort level with him attending.
There appeared to be a miscommunication between organizers and the police chief, who was under the impression organizers were happy for him to attend as long as he was out of uniform.
“It’s something that I believe quite strongly in. But I didn’t want to do it without their blessing and support,” Manak said.
He said as a south Asian man he has been subjected to racism and discrimination throughout his life, although he said it happens less frequently now than in the past, in part due to changes in society and because he’s in a position of power.
“But I still have it when I’m not in uniform and people don’t know what I do for a living,” Manak said.
That lived experience gives him a different perspective that many police leaders don’t have, he said.
Manak said he hoped to listen to and learn from the community in order to turn this moment in history into a learning opportunity for the department.
“How does that translate into what I take back to our organization, and what is going to change? And I’ve got some ideas,” he said, adding he plans to speak on the issue at the Greater Victoria Police Advisory Committee meeting next week.
As with all large protests, uniformed police officers will be present “to ensure the protest is safe, peaceful and lawful,” Manak said.
The rally is scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Centennial Square.