The now-global movement for Black lives landed in Aurora Sunday as about 1,200 people marched along the longest street in the world, carrying the message that it's been a long, long time coming, but change is gonna come.
That Sam Cooke civil rights anthem set the tone for the Yonge Street solidarity walk to Aurora Town Park that was organized by a trio of siblings and three friends to give voice to the racism, injustice and inequality experienced by Black citizens here and beyond.
Organizer and MC Chloe Hull told the massive crowd who peacefully demonstrated at the park that she and the organizing team pulled the rally together in about three days because they “needed to stand up against racism”.
“We’re here in response to the senseless killing of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, and other Black people, so we’re standing up for them,” Hull said.
“We can’t walk away from here today and stop, we need to commit to taking action in any form ...here in Aurora, in other towns, workplaces, neighbourhoods, schools and community organizations,” she later added.
The police killing of 46-year-old Minneapolis, Minnesota father George Floyd on May 25, 2020, that was caught on video by a bystander has spurred mass protests against police brutality and anti-Black racism in U.S. cities and towns every day since, and abroad.
While the African-American man was handcuffed and face down on the ground, white police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Three of Floyd’s final words, “I can’t breath”, have since come to symbolize the fight against violence and systemic racism in the Black Lives Matter movement.
Chauvin now faces second-degree murder charges, and the three attending officers are all charged with aiding and abetting. All have been fired and Minneapolis city councillors vow to disband the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a new model.
Before protestors headed out along the well-organized route that included marshalls at intersections to ensure everyone’s safety, 13-year Aurora resident Phiona Durrant spoke with NewmarketToday about the meaning behind her protest sign, “Christine Elliott, Black people need to be heard. Stop ignoring our calls”.
The daycare owner said she was devastated by a racist act from a disgruntled client who also brought the weight of government officials down on her small business.
“My client claimed I was late to pick her kid up at school, which wasn’t true, and she came to the park and in front of everybody called me a Black bitch,” Durrant said.
“The ministry people came to my home for no reason and they were so disrespectful, racist and belittling,” said Durrant, who later called Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas for help and was referred to Newmarket-Aurora MPP Christine Elliott’s constituency office as the matter was deemed provincial.
“They ignored me. I’ve been trying to get Christine to return my emails, I have them all, and she never returns a call,” she said.
“So that’s why, today, my sign is that we need to be heard, and not just only on criminal issues, but other issues,” Durrant said. “I had to close my daycare because I realized I don’t have anybody to stand up for me for being attacked the way I’ve been attacked.”
“So today, for any other reason, I’m here to say, you know what, more than Black men being killed, there are other social issues that are stifled,” she said.
Aurora resident Henry Tombe attended the rally with his wife, Nancy, and young sons, Miles and Nathan.
“The feeling of solidarity that Aurora as a community, and Newmarket, and all over the Greater Toronto Area is showing to a cause of peace and justice for the entire world is so well represented here. I’m very proud and happy to see it and I’m impressed by the turnout,” Tombe said.
Tombe grew up in England and said that racism and systemic racism is different in different places.
“I don’t see as much of it here, but what I see here is a lot more intolerance rather than overt racism,” he said. “I think our systems and structures and the way police handle individuals, bias is there, I see that.”
“But I still think everyone can work on their individual biases, whether they are unconscious biases or they’re aware of them,” said Tombe. “I think people can work on their biases and try to make the world a bit more just and equitable for everybody.”
Meanwhile, demonstrator Rayanne Lees carried a sign with a message of “no justice, no peace, defund the police”.
“At first, it sounds like such a radical issue, but, of course, we need police, I’m not saying we don’t need protective services for a crisis,” said Lees. “But I don’t think the current police service is serving all our communities, and I think our money could be much better spent.”
“When you compare police budgets to nurses and long-term care workers fighting for PPE and are being told that budgets are an issue, it’s shameful,” she added. “I think public service investments can be better spent on social services that reduce crime rates, rather than violent responses to crime through police services.”
The throngs of demonstrators also had the chance to hear from a diverse lineup of guest speakers that included human rights advocate and Whitchurch-Stouffville resident Heather Tillock, spoken word artist and University of Sussex neuroscience student Daveisha Francis, who read her poem entitled, So I ask You, and Caron Morgan, a certified personality assessment workshop facilitator.
There wasn’t a sound during the two minutes of silence for Floyd and others who have lost their lives, and Hull’s father, Clement Hull, performed an acapella version of Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come.
Tillock, the mom of two teenagers, said she didn’t expect to face racism in the northern York Region town when the family moved there more than a decade ago, but “something happened every day that reminded me that I was Black, and I don’t need a reminder”.
Floyd’s killing colliding with the coronavirus crisis made her angry, devastated, hurt and enraged. And the world was paying attention, she said.
“Finally, there’s an opportunity here, the stars are aligned, COVID forced us all to be at home, on our phones and devices, so we watched the brutality and the death of a Black man. We all saw it, it wasn’t hidden,” said Tillock. “So now, we have an opportunity to move the needle, finally, to speak up for injustice, finally, here’s an opportunity for every single one of us to hold each other accountable, finally.”
Tillock also had advice for Black and white people at the protest.
For white people, educate yourself, understand that you have privilege and how that contributes to a system of inequality, speak up when you see injustice because silence is not an option, check your biases, and be ready to have uncomfortable conversations about race.
For Black people, Tillock said to give yourself permission to feel all of the feelings that killings such as Floyd’s brings up, stand together in solidarity, be part of the solution and don’t let anyone dictate what success looks like, stay woke, and be accountable.
Speaker Morgan said she is still hurting and trying to process the Floyd killing. She shared personal experiences about what she calls casual racism and how she once accepted it.
“I’m not going to speak for every Black person, I’m not going to figure it out because I can’t,” she said, her voice heavy with emotion. “But I realize that many of our allies have no idea what Black people are thinking or what we go through.”
“Science tells us that race doesn’t really exist, you and I share the same initial ancestors,” said Morgan. “There is faith, hope, and love. Love looks like you and me, and her and him, caring more about what the other feels than what you feel.”
MC Hull, along with fellow organizers including brothers Keenan Roy Davies and Jordan Cangombe Hull, and friends Léa Robertson, Elizabeth White and Julia Frappier, took to the stage to thank everyone involved for the overwhelming support and turnout.
The young group challenged their allies to take action, self-reflect, examine their privilege, and work toward learning about and understanding Black people.
“Support us, don’t tear us down, we are the future,” she said. “Walk with us, build us up, be an example, approach us without bias, give us opportunity, open doors and invite us in, respect our Blackness, and lastly, acknowledge that Black lives matter,” Hull said to loud and prolonged applause.
