Queen Yalatai speaks Friday to a crowd outside Medicine Hat city hall during a peaceful protest in support of the George Floyd protests and Black Lives Matter movement.--NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
At a time rife with division, it was about unity.
Hundreds of peaceful protestors gathered at the steps of city hall Friday evening to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement and George Floyd protests taking place in the United States, while advocating for systemic change in Canada.
“We’re not here to cause divide, we want to come together,” said organizer Queen Yalatai. “After what happened to George Floyd, and not only what happened to him but what has been happening over many years in Canada and the United States, we really wanted to do something for our community – to show our support for those people and also make it known that racism is a huge problem in our city.”
Yalatai, 19, says she’s experienced racism personally – from racial slurs to comments on her facial features – and she’s seen and heard many instances involving others around the city.
“There’s lots of racism that I have experienced, not only for myself,” she said, adding she hopes the protests help clear up some misconceptions about the Black Lives Matter movement. “Some people think it’s anti-cop, anti-white, but in reality it’s anti-police brutality and it’s anti-racism.”
Members from Medicine Hat Police Service were present at the protest. Yalatai says she met with MHPS on Wednesday to go over plans for the event, and was glad to see them in attendance Friday to show unity, witness the chants and listen to the speakers involved.
“We wanted them to come and show up so they can hear about these stories here and what has been going on,” she said. “Often times people are scared to go to the police or they feel like they might not do anything, but I’m very confident in our Medicine Hat police, that they are working hard as they can to make sure everyone is safe.”
Fellow organizer Brooke Young, 19, says she and Yalatai initially planned on holding a smaller protest but decided to think bigger – and the community responded in overwhelming numbers.
“We decided it would be best to have something for the whole community to show support for, and have a place for people of colour to express themselves, mourn the losses, and also a place where they can stand up for themselves and really talk about what has been going on,” she said. “In Canada we like to push it under the rug and we like to say that the U.S. is worse and we’re a progressive place, but we’re just better at hiding it.”
Seventeen-year-old Ayman Ismail was one of many who spoke at the event, sharing his experience of growing up in Medicine Hat, the racism he’s encountered, and the hope he has for the future.Â
“It means so much to me; it means so much to see so many people who care about this cause,” said Ismail, who pointed out that racism can come in many forms, and from people of all ages.Â
“I was in Grade 6. We would lunch monitor for the teacher so they could have lunch break. All the kids had to sit down to eat, and I told one child that she needed to sit down and she told me no. I asked, “Why won’t you listen to me?” And she simply said it’s because I’m black – and she’s in Grade 2.Â
“I don’t blame her. I believe it’s because racism is taught in homes, it’s taught in systems and it’s taught in schools, and I believe if we can fix that, we can end racism.”
For 23-year-old Ariish Wol, demonstrations like the one Friday in Medicine Hat – and the ones taking place all over Canada and the United States following the death of George Floyd – are long overdue.
“We’re all humans. Let us act that way. We have emotions, we have feelings, too. We have children, we have parents, we have sisters and brothers. It’s time that we stop this racial bullshit and start looking at one another like we’re humans,” she said. “This is the end of it, that’s why I’m standing here today for the thousands who have died, the thousands who have unspoken names … all the people who have died in the past few years all because of the colour of their skin. When is this going to stop?”
Looking over the crowd, Wol says she felt inspired that day could come soon.
“To see the amount of people that are here today, to come and fight for justice and peace, to finally unify as one as a human race, it really fills my heart up,” she said. “I’m very surprised and excited and feel very loved today because people came out to support the community.”
