KW Solidarity March organizer expects peaceful protest in Kitchener

One of the organizers of the KW Solidarity March for Black Lives Matter being held Wednesday in Kitchener says that she expects the protest to be peaceful.

Selam Debs told Magic 106 Radio on Wednesday morning that she is hoping the march will run as smoothly as the one in Toronto on Saturday which saw protesters rally peacefully through the streets to police headquarters.

“My thoughts are that you watch Toronto put together and organize a very safe and peaceful protest and I believe that as a community we have the ability to come together to implement social distancing and as well to raise our voices in a way that is peaceful but is also loud,” she said.

She says residents of all races and nationalities are welcome at the march which is slated to kick-off at Victoria Park at 5 p.m.

“It is all of us coming together, regardless of those things to stand up together again racism,” Debs said.

Organizers have asked attendees to take COVID-19 restrictions in mind by wearing a mask, keeping to groups of five or less and maintaining a distance of two meters between groups.

“We have advised our community that if you are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, please stay home and tune in through the Facebook livestream from the Black Lives Matter Waterloo Region page,” Debs said.

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Similar events have been held around the world since the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minnesota, Minn. A video showed Floyd, a Black man, pleading for air as a police officer pressed a knee into his neck.

The deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Regis Korchinski-Paquet have also spurred on protests.

A similar protest is scheduled for Saturday afternoon outside of Guelph City Hall.

While most people have focused on events south of the border, Debs says Canadians also need to remain vigilant as we have had our own issues in the past.

“I think a lot of people think that these issues are in relationship to the US and that Canada doesn’t have a racism issue,” she explained. “It is when we stop saying things like ‘we’re not racist’ and we start saying that ‘we are actively anti-racist’ is when we will start to see this shift.”