Providence Protest Draws “Biggest Crowd I Have Seen,” Says Clements—“10,000,” Says Araujo
Friday, June 05, 2020
The Friday protest against police violence and racism in Providence drew a massive crowd that began at Kennedy Plaza at the foot of City Hall and marched to the Rhode Island State House.
The crowd estimated by Mike Araujo, one of the organizers of last week’s Black Lives Matter protest, was approximately 10,000. The march was a near-constant chorus of “Black Lives Matter” during the quarter-mile trek.
The protest was less than two weeks after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis at the hands of four police officers.
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Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements told GoLocal of the organized protest,” It’s the biggest crowd I have ever seen since on the force;”
Lisa Ranglin, President of the Rhode Island Black Business Association said, “I am fired up. Today’s protest was massive — I think it was about 15,000 people. It was an outpouring of amazing support for the movement.”
“We expected [these numbers]. It’s a movement — we engaged young people, and they will be driving change. I didn’t expect anything less,” said Ranglin.
“We’re heading to Newport tomorrow. There will be more. We want justice and equality. Today what we saw was unprecedented — an outpouring of support from Rhode Islanders demanding justice and equality,” she added.
“I am encouraged that change is coming. We’re going to keep the pressure on — we will not stop until black lives change from a catch praise to driving policies and laws, to change the trajectory of people’s lives,” added Ranglin.
Proud to Call Providence My Home
“I’m proud to call Providence my home today,” said Omar Bah – torture survivor, a former journalist and refugee from The Gambia in West Africa.
“It was great. I was impressed with how diverse the group was and how peaceful the rally was, especially when it’s understandable that people are upset,” said Bah.
“When elected officials ask us how to help, they should completely disband the use of force by police. They can’t be attacking people in a way they can die. They also need to increase funding for community policing and increase understanding in communities,” said Bah is the founder and Executive Director of the Refugee Dream Center in Rhode Island.
“Increasing jobs and opportunities for communities of color — if people are busy, are stable like middle and upper-class neighborhoods, there won’t be such a need for police,” he said.
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