Local group finds new form of protest
STAMFORD — Organizers of a local social justice group on Saturday introduced community members to a new form of protesting — through meditation and exercise. Group leaders said those activities give participants the mental fortitude necessary to continue “fighting the good fight” toward justice and equality.
Tim Frazier, head of operations with the group Justice for Brunch, said protesting has occurred for years upon years, but young people, like him, are now finding more creative ways to connect with the community.
“Just marching and shouting … is always effective to ignite something,” he said. “But now we’re implementing ourselves in a different way in society, where we can be beneficial to people who don’t necessarily feel comfortable marching.”
The group to date has held marches throughout Fairfield County, deliberately timed to coincide when and where people have been congregating to eat brunch, for the purpose of shaking people out of leisure mindsets that let them escape and ignore real-world problems.
But Saturday they were
at Harbor Point’s Commons Park for a day that combined arts, exercise and meditation to focus, organizers said, on cultivating mental wellness while living as a person of color.
“There’s a lot of pressure being a Black man in the community. You have to dress a certain way, you have to make sure your hair is worn a certain way, you have to make sure you uphold yourself to a higher standard and speak proper, instead of actually being yourself and being one with your culture,” said Fitzgerald Francois, co-organizer with the group. “It’s tough and it takes a toll, especially on the younger kids, who are trying to find their identity.”.
Samantha Alemseghed, a 25-year-old from Stamford, shared a spoken-word piece about her former mental health struggles.
“The systemic barriers and disparities in our cultural norms led me to believe that I was in fact crazy, because mental health doesn’t exist. You’re happy or you’re a failure,” she said.
“I grew up in a home that wasn’t really a home, like, I had a roof over my head, clothes and food for my bones but I wasn’t allowed to cry — like if I cried, it was a sign that what was provided for me wasn’t enough — that I wasn’t raised by a strong Black man who taught me to be tough,” she said.
But today, she said, she’s the strongest she’s ever been.
“I call this chapter of my life redemption,” she said, as she closed her reading, and the crowd cheered.
Anisa Fortt, a Stamford NAACP member who attended, said she’s aware of the “angry Black woman and angry Black man” stereotype, but that it’s important for people of color to speak out against racial injustices regardless of those beliefs. But also, people of color need to carve out time to care for themselves, especially in the face of problems that disproportionately affect them, from COVID-19 to systemic racism.