Sudbury Black Lives Matter rally highlights 'injustice'

Sudbury Black Lives Matter group hosted a Juneteenth Racial Injustice Rally today at Bell Park. It was the third rally to be organized in Sudbury, following the death of George Floyd last month.

Juneteenth is a date that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United Stated during the Civil War.

One of the people attending the Sudbury rally, Ra'anaa Brown, said the date itself is not really one for celebration.

"Juneteenth in itself is a controversial holiday because, while we are celebrating the abolishment of slavery, it's important to remember that the ratification of the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln was done as a tool to win the war over the south that he was losing, because they predominately relied on slave labour," she says.

"But I think [that] in itself represents something bigger and greater — abolishment of slavery and the first step to liberating Black people — because even though we have been liberated from slavery, we haven't been liberated from the system."

Brown, who holds a Masters from the McEwen School of Architecture, grew up in Brampton. She said living in Sudbury was an eye-opener for her.

"I always tell people I never realized my true Blackness until I moved to Sudbury. And instantly, people would say small micro-agressions and make small jokes about me being Black. Small things like walking down the street and strangers are touching my hair and people are asking me if it's real and it's happened to me on multiple occasions."

The global protests — sparked by a number of recent deaths of Black people at the hands of police — have focused on issues of systemic racism and police brutality.

Daniel Akinyemi is one of the organizers of the rally in Sudbury. He also attended the previous two, and says he was surprised and happy with the turnout. 

"And it just made me feel much more safer being in Sudbury, knowing that there are people who may not necessarily have the same skin colour as me, but who passionately feel the same way about injustice," he said.

Akinyemi is one of more than a dozen organizers, and while he has followed issues in the news for years, he hasn't been directly involved in activism until now.

He said he was motivated to get involved with the Black Lives Matter movement after watching the video of George Floyd's death. A white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

"I can't unsee what I saw. And it's sad," Akinyemi said.

"And also hearing the news about Regis Paquet in Toronto ... I mean it really sparked something deep within me, and I felt like I needed to make my voice heard."

Akinyemi says his own experiences with racism in Sudbury have mostly been subtle, but that's still a problem.

He noted that organizers have been having conversations with local leaders — including police and politicians — about ways to address systemic racism here. Those conversations have been around issues like police body cameras, and more diversity training. 

Akinyemi said he hopes the rally will help to keep the conversation about racism going.

People of all skin colours gathered to show their support.

Darius Garneau was there and marvelled at the turnout of about 200 people.

Garneau says that, while the day's intent was to highlight and strengthen Black and Indigenous voices, he says others can help as well, in their way, even though they have not experienced the same kind of discrimination

"A part of being an ally is really understanding you don't have that lived experience, but you're still with those people who have that lived experience," he says.

The rally began around 1 p.m. in Sudbury's Bell Park with speeches, followed by a walk to the Bridge of Nations looping back to Bell Park. 

Officers in cruisers and on bicycles were present at the rally to ensure the safety of those marching and the orderly flow of traffic.