‘We need to do something’: Moms and dads rally behind Portland protesters
PORTLAND, July 25 ( AFP) - Bev Barnum never imagined what she was setting in motion when she posted a message online after coming across a video of federal officers in Portland, Oregon, pulling a protester into an unmarked car.
The 35-year-old mother of two said “'I really think we need to do something... what if you knew 100 moms were behind you and they could make a difference?'”
Within hours, her inbox was overflowing with messages from mothers rallying behind the idea that led to the so-called Wall of Moms in the western US city rocked by protests for social justice.
Waving sunflowers and standing armin-arm to form a human barrier between police and protesters, the movement offered a way for middle- aged white women eager to show solidarity for Black Lives Matter protesters.
The women sport bike helmets and bright yellow T-shirts, some of which read “Summoned Mama.” The slogan refers to the dying call-out to his mother of George Floyd, an African American man whose death at the hands of police in May set off the protests in Oregon and nationwide.
The impact of the women did not go unnoticed among dads. Many fathers have joined the nightly marches, oftentimes carrying leaf blowers, revving up the leaf blowers and running to the front each time a gas canister is thrown by police.