More than 1,000 march against police violence and racism in Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill

Posted 6/7/20

by Sue Ann Rybak

A sea of people converged on Chestnut Hill on Friday morning, June 5, chanting “No Justice, No Peace, Black Lives Matter! Hands Up, Don’t Shoot and Say their …

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More than 1,000 march against police violence and racism in Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill

Posted

by Sue Ann Rybak

A sea of people converged on Chestnut Hill on Friday morning, June 5, chanting “No Justice, No Peace, Black Lives Matter! Hands Up, Don’t Shoot and Say their Names.”

The Mt. Airy Solidarity March began at Upsal Train Station, 6460 Greene St. in Mt. Airy at 10 a.m. with a few hundred people, but by the time it ended, more than a thousand people had joined the march, which was publicized as “a family-friendly peaceful walk to show support of Black Lives Matter Movement and it’s solidarity with people of color.”

At the corner of Cresheim Valley Drive in Chestnut Hill, thousands of participants kneeled in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time a police officer kneeled on the neck of George Floyd, killing him.

The organizers of the event, Marcela Dow and Elya Kaplan, two local college students – one black and one white – had initially hoped to get 50 people to attend the march.

In a telephone interview after the march, the Central High School alums said they both felt more needed to be done but didn’t feel comfortable going downtown to protest.

On June 2, Dow, a junior at the University of Delaware, texted Kaplan, a sophomore at the University of Michigan, and asked her if she would help her plan a march in Mt. Airy.

Dow’s sister designed a flyer that they posted on Instagram, Facebook and NextDoor to publicize the event, and a friend, Mary Kalyna, wrote a press release that she sent to local news outlets.

“It just took off like wildfire,” Kaplan said. “We contacted State Rep. Chris Rabb’s office, and he graciously agreed to speak. All this happened within 48 to 72 hours; we didn’t know what was going to happen. We started marching and saw this unbelievable crowd behind us. The absolute warmth and desire to participate. It was really clear that we had struck a nerve and that people wanted to participate in something bigger than themselves.”

Mt. Airy resident Jason Greene, 20, who also marched in protests in Center City on May 30 and June 2, said he thought Friday’s march was “very encouraging” because there were “a lot of people out with their young children.”

“I think it showed there is a real change in tide,” said Greene, a student at the University of Pennsylvania. “People are getting involved and are aware of the issues.”

He said with the rise of the internet and social media, you hear about a new video of someone killing an African American almost every day.

“Especially, this last one,” he said. “You watched a man just pleading for his life. For the first couple of days, I would wake up angry and go to bed angry. I hated feeling like someone else could have control over my body because I was African American; that feeling kind of drove me to want to go to these protests because I don’t want to feel that way anymore. 

“I don’t want my kids to grow up in a country where they have to fear for their lives because they are African Americans. It’s not about me or how I feel. It’s about preventing the next one and making sure we – my children and grandchildren -- live in a country where all people can feel safe. It’s about building a country on the principals that all men are created equal, and that’s something this country has struggled with. I told my grandmother this morning, ‘We have to do better.’”

Mt. Airy resident Kamryn Moore, 15, walked in the march with her mother, Amy Lydon. Moore said the protest in Mt. Airy was “beautiful and amazing.”

“There were a lot more people than I expected,” she said.

Moore said while she doesn’t agree with violence and looting, as a bi-racial young woman, she understands the anger African Americans feel.

“For years, white people have been terrorizing black people,” she said. “It can be so exhausting and tiring to remain peaceful when no one is listening to you.”

She added that people don’t realize how traumatizing it is to see those videos of African Americans getting killed or beaten by white people – many of whom are in law enforcement.

Moore said a highlight of the march for her was when  she overheard a young African American man say, “Man, I am tired of seeing the ‘Welcome to Chestnut Hill’ sign.” because as a young black man, he didn't feel welcome there.

Moore said another man, white, said, “Let’s change it,” and he taped a Black Lives Matter sign over the Chestnut Hill Logo.

“White people are never going to understand what black people are going through fully,” she said. “But if they just stand with them, and don’t steal their voices, but still use their privilege to spread their awareness. I think that would be amazing.”

Speaking at the march were both State Rep. Chris Rabb and Rev. Cean James, pastor of Salt and Light Church in Southwest Philadelphia.

Rabb, standing on a bench at Winston Road and Germantown Avenue, said everyone has a role to play in ending prejudice and bigotry.

“All of our fates are intertwined, and we all have a role to play,” he said. “Not everyone needs to be or should be an elected official. Not everyone can be at this moment physically because they have comorbidities, and just stepping out of the house puts them at risk. So, they need to be at home. Find your role.”

Rabb challenged “white folk” to use their white privilege to help others, not just themselves. He referenced the recent protesters who were tear-gassed and shot with rubber bullets in Center City. He said, “the vast majority of those protestors were white,” probably from neighborhoods like Mt. Airy.

“They were treated like black folk,” he said. “It was the first time in 35 years that the Philadelphia Police Department used tear gas on its own people. We can’t have this. We need to come together.”

Mt. Airy resident Richard Stern, 57,  who is in a moderate risk group for COVID-19, said that’s precisely why he and other members of the Germantown Jewish Center, came to the march.

“It was incumbent upon us to stand up for the lives of our brothers and sisters,” he said.

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