It Is The Last Chance For Change
Haz Bloodworth leads chants through the city of Syracuse. He didn’t really plan to organize a march for racial justice, but he sees the murder of George Floyd.
It is the last chance for Syracuse to change, for the world to change. It’s not okay to turn on the news and see another black body being brutalized by police, in the street, in stores, in their own homes. This is a protest to say enough is enough, today and everyday.
The organizers never thought Community Organizer would be a term to describe themselves. It wasn’t organizing as much as it was a natural act of rebellion.
Even from the first day of marching there seemed to be a real sense of community forming, a family. Like any family there were ups and downs, people who decided to leave and new people who decided to stay. It was beyond a protest and turned into a daily call to action. Day after day numbers dwindled. What started out as a couple hundred leveled out to thirty or so, but it was the group who would always show up—rain or shine.
Clifford Ryan, a community activist who’s been fighting gun violence since the days many of these people were born, addresses the crowd.
Protestors march by Hotel Syracuse. Their chants echo up the buildings.
This was as much an event in person as it was an event broadcasted to the world. The revolution wasn’t televised but it was definitely tweeted.
The group gathered in the rain, unfazed by the changes in weather nor the miles walked.
Meeting outside the City’s correctional facility brought up emotions, of anger, frustration, and sadness.
It was as much an act of rebellion for the youth as it was for the old. A community came together.
