Organizers of Black Lives Matter in Thunder Bay reflect on month of activity after first ever rally in June

It all started with a Snapchat group. 

As the conversations about the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minn. developed into broader critiques of structural racism, and demonstrations took place around the world, several young Black people in Thunder Bay decided something needed to be done in their northwestern Ontario city.

In the days just before the June 5 rally, a group of teenagers and twenty-somethings spent 13 hours a day not only lining up speakers and making posters, but also sharing stories and experiences and getting to know one another.

"It really kind of helped put this in motion, because we all were fuelled by personal experience to really go out there and show that [racism] is not just in one place. It's all around and until it is spoken about, it isn't going to get fixed," said Zachariah Leonardi, one of the young organizers.

The support from the community was overwhelming on the day of the rally, he said.

"We were only expecting about, maybe eight hundred people, but when we saw the turnout that we got, we all just kind of stood there in awe ... it really speaks volumes considering a lot of us had a little doubt," Leonardi added.

The organizers said over 2,000 people attended the rally, which included a march up to Red River Road, around the Lakehead University law school building, and back into Waverley Park where speeches and stories were shared.

What is next for the young organizers?

Pitia Modi, one of the rally organizers, said he's seen some change take place in the public and private dialogues that people are having.

"I've noticed a lot more people are speaking out and posting about issues that have been going on with racism in Canada. And I find that people are starting to take more accountability for themselves and for things that they say that is considered to be micro-racism, and now they're understanding it more."

He added, "I've also found that people are going out and researching and becoming more educated, which is helping them grasp what the Black community has been through and the pain and the struggle that has been an ongoing situation."

Modi said he has had a lot of people reach out to him after the demonstration took place in early June.

"I don't believe that people see the systematic racism that's been going on in Thunder Bay, just because of people's reactions and their comments and their feeling of sympathy and empathy towards me now, saying 'oh I didn't know any this was going on.' But it's an everyday thing being a Black person, especially growing up in a predominantly white town."

Modi added that while the conversation has been started, the organizers are looking to build on that momentum.

"We have come together to create a group that focuses on promoting Black lives and the good things that Black lives do. It's just to educate more people about what we are doing ... because right now I believe the conversation is just getting started and we have to hit the gas harder."

Leonardi said the group has its eyes set on addressing some of the institutional discrimination that exists in Thunder Bay.

"I think the common denominator in a lot of our stories was it started in the school systems, where kids just felt out of place. A lot of people [at the rally and in conversations afterwards] wanted to make a difference. Like I had one lady who said she was discussing with the school board on what they could do to better teach Indigenous and African history or African Canadian history. So the protest really did create a lot of dialogue." 

You can hear the full interview with Pitia Modi on CBC's Superior Morning here.