‘Keep up the momentum’
Peaceful protesters return to the streets, demanding action on racial injustice
Thousands join marches in Toronto with a message for police, political leaders
Thousands of peaceful protesters returned to the streets of Toronto for a second consecutive day, and a second straight weekend, to rally against racism toward Black and Indigenous people in Canada and North America.
There were two marches Saturday afternoon: one that began at Nathan Phillips Square and criss-crossed the downtown core, and another that started at Trinity Bellwoods Park and headed to Queen’s Park for an hours-long demonstration. There was still a small group marching in the early evening.
Protesters at Nathan Phillips Square emphasized racism is not exclusive to the United States, days after Premier Doug Ford said Canada doesn’t have the same “systemic deep roots” of racism as its neighbour.
“There are many people who do not accept that this occurs,” said Nicholas Thompson, a member of a grassroots group called Stop Killing Black Lives who organized the march from Nathan Phillips Square. “The premier said that this doesn’t really exist … there are many people who believe that this doesn’t exist, and we can’t have that change if we don’t have the acknowledgment first. That is critical.”
The protest was the first for Nardia Campbell, whose father and fiancé live in the U.S. “People think racism doesn’t exist here,” she said outside city hall.
“We definitely need to bring it to light. The corporations need to get involved and start putting money toward Black people in Canada.”
Campbell hoped Saturday was just the beginning of equality and an ongoing conversation. The “Keep the momentum” mantra was shared on homemade shirts worn by Efia TekyiAnnan and fellow members of her gym, the Jenko Program, which rallied hundreds of people to the square. Tekyi-Annan said it was “very irresponsible” for Ford to say racism doesn’t happen in Canada. She hopes the ongoing protest can act as the catalyst for uncomfortable conversations.
“It’s very disheartening that our leaders can’t even see it,” Tekyi-Annan said. “We want people to know that even if you’re supporting, what are you supporting? You can’t just come here and hold a sign. It’s more than that.”
Neither of Saturday’s marches was organized by Black Lives Matter Toronto or Not Another Black Life, which led last Saturday’s march in honour of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, the 29year-old woman who fell to her death from a High Park highrise in the presence of police. Korchinski-Paquet’s name was chanted consistently through this weekend’s protests, too.
It was not clear who arranged the march from Trinity Bellwoods Park but organizers handed out free masks, hand sanitizer and maps of the route as hundreds gathered at the north end of the park for a peaceful march to Queen’s Park.
Kiarha Cato, a Grade 12 student from Brampton, said she wanted to show up for fellow Black people and fight for equality. “I see racism in school and I just feel like I should speak for my peers,” she said, while holding a black and red sign that read “I am here for my future.”
“I feel like I’m targeted sometimes for the colour of my skin and I feel like it’s not fair.”
Chanting “No justice, no peace” and “Black Lives Matter,” the Trinity Bellwoods group made its way to Queen’s Park, passing a COVID-19 assessment centre. Many curious onlookers watched or filmed the crowd along the route. A few raised their fists in solidarity.
“Stop clutching your pearls Canada, racism exists here too,” read one sign. The group encountered a handful of anti-lockdown protesters at Queen’s Park but were directed to the other side of the park by police.
Protesters in both groups took a knee and observed eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence, the length of time a Minneapolis police officer kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck as Floyd pleaded that he could not breathe.
Floyd’s death on May 25 has sparked two weeks of widespread protest across the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. The Toronto groups urged police to join them, with police taking a knee outside the U.S. Consulate and at Nathan Phillips Square.
“I want them to know that I’m walking with them,” Toronto police Insp. Matt Moyer said outside the consulate. “I support their cause and I support exactly what they’re doing and I think that the fact that they’re showing such a demonstration for change … it’s what we want.”
Rumours circled ahead of the marches about potential looters and threats of violence. Many stores around downtown Toronto, notably on Yonge, Bloor and Queen streets, boarded up their storefronts with plywood earlier this week as a precaution.
But vocal protesters at both marches made it clear their intentions were peaceful. A man who arrived at Nathan Phillips Square early in the afternoon dressed in blackface makeup was quickly escorted away by police. He was later charged with one count of breach of peace.
Sammy Yatim’s mother, Sahar Bahadi, wearing a shirt that featured a photo of her son, was among those who congregated as the march reached YongeDundas Square. Yatim was 18 when he was and shot and killed July 2013 after he exposed himself and pulled a small knife on passengers on a streetcar.
Toronto police Const. James Forcillo was later convicted of attempted murder in Yatim’s death. Forcillo was granted full parole this year.
Mayor John Tory told reporters Saturday that he hadn’t ruled out attending a protest in Toronto. He added that he was also prepared to kneel.
“I certainly would be quite prepared to take a knee … in the context of showing my respect for the protesters and my respect, even more importantly in a way, for the cause they represent,” Tory said at GlobalMedic Headquarters, where volunteers were packing hygiene kits for health-care workers on the COVID-19 front line.
Tory hoped early in the day that the protests would remain peaceful. “I just think that’s the Toronto way of doing it — heartfelt but peaceful,” he said.
March organizer Thompson said he needed to see more than kneeling gestures from such officials as Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the latter of whom took a knee in Ottawa on Friday. The Black community,
Thompson said, needs to hear from the city, provincial and federal governments with tangible action plans. He believes engaging the Black community and their allies is essential to taking that next step, and he was encouraged by the acknowledgment of racism he saw Saturday.
“Before it was just us that were making our voices heard,” Thompson said. “That’s where our oppressors were able to continue because if you’re silent about it then you are supporting the oppressor.
“We’ll continue to mobilize and we’ll eventually reach the point where there’s progress.”
“Before it was just us that were making our voices heard. That’s where our oppressors were able to continue because if you’re silent about it then you are supporting the oppressor. We’ll continue to mobilize and we’ll eventually reach the point where there’s progress.”
NICHOLAS THOMPSON OF THE GROUP STOP KILLING BLACK LIVES