Emily Hays Photo
Around 200 white-haired New Haveners wore face masks and stood on the Green —at least six feet apart from each other — in solidarity Monday with the Black Lives Matter movement
“We wanted to offer an opportunity for people to protest who haven’t been involved so far because of the epidemic of Covid-19,” said protest organizer Melinda Tuhus.
Tuhus and fellow activist Sally Connolly came up with the idea as demonstrations have sprung up nationwide in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.
Connolly said that she has been as careful as possible during the Covid-19 pandemic. She has already seen three friends die of the disease. Despite this, she felt it was important to counter the idea that the elderly are conservative and support President Donald Trump, which she definitely does not, she said.
The longtime activists taped 50 blue crosses on the grass near the intersection of Church and Elm streets to mark where protesters should stand. Protesters assembled in small groups of family members and members of their own household and otherwise obeyed the social distancing directions.
Sixteen-year-old James Maciel-Andrews (pictured) attended the protest with his grandmother Eileen O’Donnell, age 77. The Engineering and Science University Magnet School student said that he missed Friday’s march and decided to show up to Monday’s elders rally instead.
“Protesting with my family is something I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember,” Maciel-Andrews said. “Things won’t change overnight, but by showing up, we can end this vicious cycle of disenfranchisement.”
O’Donnell said that she first started thinking about police brutality when a police officer shot 21-year-old Malik Jones in New Haven in 1997.
She has wanted to go to one of the recent rallies but worried that tear gas might spread Covid-19. She said that she has personal experience with the tactic, from when she was tear gassed several times during the Black Panther trial protests in 1970.
She is particularly worried now about Maciel-Andrews and her other grandchildren, she said.
“It’s sickening and it’s scary and we have to do something about it,” O’Donnell said, holding a sign that said “I can’t believe I’m still protesting this” in trembling hands.
Shalom United Church of Christ Rev. Allie Perry (pictured above) kicked off the rally speeches.
“I’m speaking as a white woman whose family prided itself on having a Mayflower ancestor. Yet I learned nothing about 1619,” Perry said.
Perry said that even during her political awakening during the Black Panther protests of the 1960s, she did not know the date when enslaved Africans were first brought to the American colonies.
“This speaks to the racism that has shaped and twisted every aspect of our society,” Perry said.
Perry then handed off the microphone to be wiped down with disinfectant and given to 76-year-old Meg Bloom. Bloom (pictured above) read a list of names of African Americans killed by police officers as a list of activities she could do without fear as a white woman: go running, leave a party, sell CDs, go to church, have car problems or read a book in her own car.
“This is reality and enough is enough,” Bloom said.
Perry took back the microphone to announce some of the principles of the protest. She said that as mostly white people, their role is to be present, center the voices of black leaders, be accountable to their agenda and use their privilege wherever possible. An example she offered was to counter lobbying by police unions by showing up to legislative sessions themselves.
“I hope this is a tipping point. It is not just a moment but a movement and we must be clear that we are in it to the end,” Perry said.
Perry then introduced longtime criminal justice activist Barbara Fair.
“First of all, it’s hard to stand here,” Fair (pictured above) said. “I come here with a heavy heart.”
Fair described seeing little progress after her years of activism, of seeing only “baby steps to justice” in the legislature and of hearing people talk only about the vandalism in recent waves of protests.
“They forget that America taught all of this to us,” Fair said, describing the theft and violence involved in establishing slavery and assembling the U.S. states and territories. “It’s time we face America for a what it is. There is a chance we can still turn it around.”
Fair spoke with emotion about those killed by police, particularly in Connecticut, and asked the other protesters to feel the pain she feels when she hears the names.
Fair advocated not for the abolition of the New Haven Police Department but for its removal from schools, hospitals and other social work-focused settings.
Other demands of the rally included fully implementing New Haven’s civilian review board, removing the triple policing by Hamden, Yale and New Haven in the city, and directing funds from the police department to other local needs. Tuhus said that these demands came from other New Haven protests led by Citywide Youth Coalition and Black Lives Matter.
When Fair handed the microphone back to Tuhus, Tuhus began an eight-minute and 46-second moment of silence to remember the length of time a white police officer kneeled on George Floyd’s neck, long after he stopped breathing.
Fair and others chose to lie down, as a “die-in” form of demonstration.
Others kneeled, sat in lawn chairs or remained standing.
Mayor Justin Elicker kneeled silently, unannounced, at the back of the crowd.
When the minutes of silence ended, Tuhus said, “That’s a long time to beg for your life.”
With a few air hugs and waves, the elders finished the protest and quickly disbanded.
Thank you all for bearing witness.