Hundreds of protesters marched peacefully through Boston Saturday to demand justice for Breonna Taylor and others killed by police.
Protesters gathered around 3 p.m. at Ramsay Park in Roxbury for an event organized by Mass Action Against Police Brutality. Much of the crowd held signs and wore Black Lives Matter slogans on their clothing.
Mass Action organizer Brock Satter began speaking to the crowd around 3:15 p.m.
“We’re not going back to that period of time where people just look the other way, and these deaths were swept under the rug,” Satter said. “We need to demand these cases be reopened, these officers and all these officials be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Hope Coleman, the mother of Terrence Coleman, who was shot and killed by Boston police in 2016, said she was sorry for the loss faced by the family of George Floyd, who had called out for his mother before he died.
“My son couldn’t yell out for his mother,” Coleman said. “My son couldn’t yell out because his eyes were in the back of his head.”
Gov. Charlie Baker’s decision to activate the state’s National Guard to respond to potential protests, Satter said, was an intimidation tactic.
“We have every right to assemble and petition the government to redress our grievances,” Satter said. “We do not need the National Guard to protect our rights. They are not here to protect our rights.”
Baker activated the Massachusetts National Guard on Thursday “for the preservation of life and property, preservation of order, and to afford protection to persons,” according to the order. Cities must request National Guard assistance for personnel to be deployed.
Johnny ActionSeed, a Mass Action organizer, told the crowd about his own experience with police violence and the risks protesters face in Kentucky, where Taylor was killed.
“We’re blessed here, now we have this climate that we’re able to actually come out in droves,” Actionseed said. “My friends in Louisville, they’re being charged with rioting on the first degree for being out after 9 p.m.”
Some demonstrators offered supplies such as hand sanitizer, masks and snacks to other protesters.
The march down Washington Street began around 4:15 p.m. Leading chants, Satter stood in a truck bed as protesters followed.
“Up with the people. Down with the pigs,” protesters chanted. “No justice. No peace. Prosecute the police.”
More demonstrators, who had gathered at Justice Edward O. Gourdin Veterans Memorial Park for a protest organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation, joined the Mass Action march around 4:30 p.m.
Organizers decided to combine the march after both groups announced protests at similar times and locations, according to Satter.
One protester said he came to protest a justice system that continues to fail Black individuals.
“I’m here because my people, people of my complexion, of my background, of my type of history, keep getting killed without getting charges pressed, keep getting incarcerated with unfair trials,” J. Garrett said. “I’m here to protest the system.”
As the protesters passed bystanders on the march’s route, activists handed out flyers. Others rode bikes or walked ahead to clear the way for protesters.
Drivers honked their horns as the protesters passed, and some residents cheered from their windows.
After marching about 4 miles, the protesters concluded the demonstration in Doherty-Gibson Playground with remarks from Mass Action and PSL organizers.
“I have seen so many new faces out here today,” said Gabby Ballard, a member of PSL. “We’re excited to continue to build and continue to organize in the coming struggle ahead.”
Coleman, speaking again to demonstrators, said cases of officer-involved shootings must be reopened.
“Reopen the damn cases,” Coleman said. “Stop covering up. It’s time to open up every damn thing.”
The crowd dispersed peacefully before 7 p.m.
Satter told The Daily Free Press after the protest that many people no longer believe in the “hope and change” of the Obama era.
“A lot of people aren’t placing their hope in some electoral solution,” Satter said. “Neither party wants to touch [these issues] with a 10-foot pole.”
The turnout to Saturday’s protest, he added, demonstrates how many within the local community see a need for change.
“It reflects that the population has been aroused into indignation,” Satter said, “to the point where a lot of people want to do something for the first time in their life.”
