Standing for justice
Rev. Leon Dunkley of the North Universalist Chapel Society addresses the crowd with Woodstock Police Chief Robbie Blish at his side during a Black Lives Matter rally in Woodstock, Vermont, on Tuesday. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
On the day of George Floyd’s funeral in Houston, the Woodstock, Vermont, community held a Black Lives Matter rally on Tuesday including multiple generations standing up for racial equality and justice.
The national outcry against racism and calls for reform have continued ever since Floyd’s death two weeks ago, when a Minneapolis police officer arrested Floyd and put a knee on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
On Tuesday, dozens of cars lined Route 106 in Woodstock Village, minutes before they circled the green, many displaying signs, and headed to the high school to gather. At the head of the procession was Jane Curtis, 102, longtime Woodstock resident who has seen her share of protests over the decades, including for civil rights and during the Vietnam War.
“I think it’s my duty to protest injustice,” she said, in the passenger seat next to her daughter, Katie Curtis Donahue, 75. “It may drag on, but it will be resolved. I think the U.S. can’t live with injustice.”
Jane Curtis, 102, is shown leading the long line of cars at the start of Tuesday’s rally in Woodstock, Vermont, with her daughter, Katie Curtis Donahue, at right. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Curtis was encouraged to see the number of children, teenagers and families turning out for protests here and across the nation.
“It’s the best thing I’ve seen in years, the young people,” she said. “They’re the future.”
That trend continued when the rally reached the high school, with local third-grader Tripp Overbay addressing the crowd. He had organized a protest on Friday in the village, and encouraged others to help carry on the work.
“We must be a part of the fight to stop racism,” Tripp said, adding, “We have to act now.”
Tripp Overbay, a local third-grader, encourages his community to fight racism during the rally in Woodstock, Vermont, on Tuesday. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Organizer Gina McAllister then introduced Woodstock Police Chief Robbie Blish, who helped with traffic control for the rally along with his officers. He said the department was “saddened and outraged” when they saw Floyd’s final moments on video. Blish said what happened in Minneapolis goes against everything his department stands for.
“If one of us disgraces our profession, all of us are disgraced,” Blish said. “We have, and we continue to, walk the walk.”
He said 25 percent of his police force are officers of color, and that they follow “fair and impartial policing” policies which prohibit the use of chokeholds.
Rev. Leon Dunkley, of the North Universalist Chapel Society in Woodstock, urged the crowd to remember what unites us.
“We are not separate from one another,” he said.
Multiple generations showed up for the Black Lives Matter rally in Woodstock, Vermont, on Tuesday. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Dunkley said we all have the opportunity to move change forward through our natural unity as people.
“This is a choice, to say ‘no’ to the violence we’ve seen on TV, to say ‘no’ to a casual brutality that happened over 8 minutes and 46 seconds, to say ‘no’ to the ongoing nature of this pain in our society,” he said. “Part of me resides in you, and part of you resides in me.”
Dunkley also commended Tripp Overbay’s courage: “I follow his lead.”
Also addressing the crowd was Bob Hager, former longtime NBC Nightly News correspondent and Woodstock resident. He recalled his time covering a Ku Klux Klan rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, and also the race riots and the Poor People’s March in Washington, D.C.
Hager spoke about a small minor league team in Lexington, North Carolina, that integrated its roster in 1960. The love of baseball was a unifying factor. He saw white people cheering on the black players, which was an immediate change — despite the fact that segregation was widespread at the time.
“It was a small beginning and a humble beginning, but you’ve got to start somewhere,” Hager said.
That sentiment has been reflected in the State House as well. Windsor County Sen. Alison Clarkson said lawmakers in Montpelier are united in addressing these issues, noting the outcry after the tragedy in Minneapolis.
“It’s just torn the scab off the great national wound of racial inequity and subjugation,” she said.
Clarkson noted Gov. Phil Scott last year appointed the state’s first racial equity director, Xusana Davis. She will chair the state’s new Racial Equity Task Force, as announced by the governor last week.
“We are all committed to changing our world one bill at a time, one life at a time,” Clarkson said.
That dedication to change is keenly felt among the younger generations, who were well represented at Tuesday’s rally. Ariel Brewer arrived at the rally with her three daughters, Adele, 11, Sage, 6, and Neva, 3. They all made signs, one a big red heart, the other stating “Black Lives Matter”, and the third insisting, “Our skin color should not define us.” Adele created the latter sign.
“We look different on the outside, but we’re the same on the inside,” she said.
Her mother senses a boldness in the younger generation, a quality she thinks should be harnessed for change.
“I tell my daughters, ‘If there’s one thing you learn from me, it’s to speak for yourself,’” Brewer said.
If the national discourse is any indication, they are being heard.
— Gareth Henderson
