Yesterday was Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the day that slavery was outlawed in Texas. Slavery was still legal in the United States until the 13th amendment was ratified in December of 1965 but Texas was the first state to celebrate the end of slavery as a state holiday. (Of course slavery is still legal as a means of punishment and if you somehow haven’t seen it yet, The 13th is free on YouTube and is required watching.) The holiday was celebrated yesterday with Black Lives Matter protests being held across the country. I decided to march with Unite NY, a march featuring organizers from a bunch of different groups working together to throw a huge rally that marched from Brooklyn, across the Brooklyn Bridge and then north up to Central Park in Manhattan.

The group featured Justice For George NYC (probably the best Instagram for finding out where protests are happening in NYC), Black Lives Matter, McCarren March (who I marched with the other night), Riders 4 Rights, a group of bicyclists who help block traffic and support protests, and I believe some other groups but I am not actually sure all the details. As one of the organizers said yesterday, it’s not about any one person or group, but the voice of the people.

I joined the march at City Hall in lower Manhattan on just the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge. I was running late so I couldn’t make the meet up at Camden Plaza but after walking in circles a bit trying to find them I finally made it and walked with the march from the Lower East Side up to Radio City Music Hall. The march continued on until Central Park but the foot that I injured in the very first protest I went to was killing me and I had to call it a day. 

The march was really amazing and hopeful and it was great to see the huge amount of diversity in the crowd. I photographed the 90 year old wedding cake icon Sylvia Weinstock and a little kid marching with a NYPD EAT MY SHORTS sign. Every race and religion was represented from the Sikhs passing out food at City Hall to the Muslim women marching near the front. At every protest I have been very impressed with the gay community using these events to celebrate Pride month in solidarity with the black community and this march was no exception. Seeing thousands of people coming together gives you so much hope for the future even when things seem so bleak. 

One of the most impactful moments of the march was everyone taking a knee at Bryant Park. As everyone kneeled I could look down 6th Ave and it was just protesters as far as the eye could see all kneeling in silence. One of the organizers read the names of dozens of black people killed and everyone repeated their names. Part of Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream speech was played after that on speakers and the march continued. 

The only real negative that I could say about the protest was that as it got later in the day a lot of people were taking off their masks. In all of the protests I have been to so far I think I saw less than 10 people without masks and I saw dozens yesterday. The vast majority of people still had their masks on throughout but a couple of times I got caught near people loudly chanting along without their masks on which risks the lives of everyone around them. And I think part of that was unfortunately the group’s leadership, several of whom were not wearing masks the entire time. I get pulling your mask down when you are speaking on the microphone, but having it off the whole time sets a bad example to the crowd. It also means that these photos of the front of the march, which are the most likely to be featured in the media, will feature protesters without masks which I think detracts from the movement. They flyer for the rally specifically told people to wear their masks and I wish the organizers did more to encourage people to keep their masks on during the rally. It’s because of this that I am going to do my best to self quarantine for the next two weeks which means I can’t cover more of these protests for a while.

Okay, enough complaining, the march was a huge success and I am so proud to be able to have been part of that. If you have ever asked yourself would you have been part of the Civil Rights movement, you have your answer. Are you protesting? Are you part of this? I hope so. Keep it going. 

Click here to see all my photos from the Unite NY Juneteenth March.

 

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