The anti-racism movement sweeping the globe is finding momentum in small B.C. communities where people of colour say small towns are not immune to racism.
Autumn Vickers, 24, is organizing a peaceful anti-racism rally in Penticton, B.C., on Sunday afternoon.
Vickers, an Indigenous woman, said the demonstration is in protest against systemic racism against Black and Indigenous people and police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
“There is racism throughout our community, throughout Canada, and people don’t understand that there is. People think that there isn’t racism because they don’t experience it,” she said.
The protests began last week in Minneapolis, where Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died after a white officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes during an arrest.
The officer, Derek Chauvin, has since been charged with second-degree murder.
Three other police officers who were present during the incident have also been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Floyd’s death acted as a catalyst, igniting protests that have now spread across the U.S. and abroad, including into Canada.
Large rallies were held in major Canadian cities on Friday and Saturday, including Kelowna, and small communities, such as Penticton, are following suit.
Vickers said she experienced racism on a Greyhound bus in the Penticton area.
“The driver wasn’t checking anybody’s bags and then he stopped at me and he asked me if I had any booze, any drugs or weapons on me, and I asked him, ‘Why are you stopping me?’ He didn’t say anything,” she said.
Sunday’s rally will be held at Gyro Park, where up to 400 people are expected to be in attendance. Several people are scheduled to speak before an open mic session will allow anyone to share their own stories and experiences with racism.
Speakers will be followed by nearly nine minutes of silence in honour of Floyd, the amount of time he was held down by the police officer.
Rally organizers are asking demonstrators to wear a mask and to practise physical distancing amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“I know a lot of the rallies, globally, obviously they are not social distancing, but we are going to make sure to make that a priority,” Vickers said.
Vickers said organizers have been in contact with local authorities on traffic and crowd control. She said RCMP are supportive of the event and encouraged participants to follow COVID-19 guidelines.
-With files from Hannah Jackson and The Canadian Press
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