Sonoma Plaza protest: ‘Passionate but peaceful’
A crowd of more than 300 gathered on Sonoma Plaza this afternoon to peacefully protest the murder of George Floyd and voice solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Unlike demonstrations elsewhere that have devolved into violent confrontations between police and protestors, the Sonoma event was calm and well-organized. City Manager Cathy Caprioli said Tuesday that her staff and the police department had been in proactive contact with the organizers, so that the community “can exercise free speech in a safe and respectful manner.”
“The tearful stories told by some of our young community members brought tears to my eyes,” said Sonoma Vice Mayor Rachel Hundley. “It incumbent on us, especially those of us who are privileged because of the color of our skin, to be better and make it better.”
Several local stores, perhaps influenced by scenes of looting in larger cities, chose to board up their storefront windows: Safeway, Pharmaca and Sonoma’s Best, among them. Paranoia was also well evidenced on social media, where many people anticipated violence and unrest.
Instead, the event was orderly.
2 thoughts on “Sonoma Plaza protest: ‘Passionate but peaceful’”
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Good work by all who worked hard to keep sheriff deputies under control. No one was bludgeoned, tear gassed, pepper sprayed, kicked, thrown to the ground, shot or run down with police cruisers as in other cities.
I am glad to see that Sonoma welcomed protesters from all over the Bay (and beyond) to support BLM yesterday.
The strength and resilience of the organizers and speakers need to be acknowledged. The ways in which BIPOC bodies exist within the tension between invisibility and hypervigilance that is upheld by white society is undoubtedly unjust, and hearing youth speak to this tension in their ongoing experiencing of racism ‘brought tears to my eyes’ as well. But let’s not dismiss the strength and resilience it took for these youth– and all black youth now and before– to stand up in front of the faces of their oppressors and speak to how they have been denied access to their civil rights.
Also, let’s keep in mind the impact that media has on how history is kept. It would be great if the organizers/ speakers were invited to provide their account of yesterday’s event for publication.