STRAIT AREA: A pair of events in Inverness County continued the global call for change in the wake of George Floyd’s death while in police custody.
On June 13, Port Hawkesbury hosted a Black Lives Matter Rally and March which was attended by over 100 people.
The Black Lives Matter Rally and March started down Reeves Street, then onto Reynolds Street, before coming back to the front of the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre.
Organized by Talen and Sasha Repko – who marched earlier this month from Auld’s Cove to Port Hawkesbury, to bring attention to racism and police brutality – last weekend’s event featured speeches from Cape Breton-Canso MP Mike Kelloway and Port Hawkesbury Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton, as well as Morgan Toney from We’koqma’q First Nation, who also performed a medley of fiddle songs.
Organizers thanked the Port Hawkesbury RCMP for helping them figure out the safest way to hold the event.
More than 100 people came out for a Black Lives Matter Rally and March in Port Hawkesbury on June 13. Pictured here are participants chanting “Black Lives Matter” at the conclusion of the march.
Highlighting the need to eliminate racism, emcee Adam Cooke pointed to a recent incident involving the owner of the China King restaurant, Maggie Qian Lee, who was admonished by a customer for her support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
In response, Lee took to Facebook on June 12 responding to on-line claims that she just returned from China, is infected with COVID-19, and that people should not frequent her business. Lee posted that she has been living, working and overseeing a business in Port Hawkesbury for the past seven years, and neither she nor her staff have travelled in the past year.
“If you have any questions you can contact me,” she posted on social media.
Rally participants are pictured with their signs at the Community Rally Against Racism in Mabou last weekend.
That same day, a Community Rally Against Racism was held on the grounds of the Mabou Arena which attracted over 300 people, according to organizers.
Over 9,000 people viewed the Facebook video as of June 14, organizers said in a press release, noting the event and on-line fundraiser also raised more than $2,700 for the African Orthodox Church in Whitney Pier.
Organizers said the event was organized in solidarity with Black Lives Matters protests in the United States, and to speak out against the recent police shootings of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi in New Brunswick.
Rally participants heard from African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaq leaders from Cape Breton about the realities of racism and how to end it.
Steven Googoo a band councillor and anti-racism advocate from We’koqma’q First Nation speaks at the Mabou Community Rally Against Racism on June 13. The event attracted more than 300 people, as well as thousands of views on-line.
Steven Googoo, a band councillor and anti-racism advocate from We’koqma’q First Nation, spoke about the tragic deaths of Indigenous people at the hands of police recently.
“One thing that is really hard to wrap our heads around as First Nation people, in 2014 you had a Caucasian male, Justin Bourque, who shot six RCMP, killed three in Moncton, and he got out of it alive,” Googoo said. “Yet, two weeks ago, you have a 26-year-old Indigenous woman shot down, not just shot, shot five times on a wellness check. And that hurts.”
Googoo also spoke about his own experience growing up in western Cape Breton.
“I used to plead with my father not to put my name bar on my jersey,” he recalled. “And he always thought I was ashamed of being Mi’kmaq. I was never ashamed of being Mi’kmaq. I was scared of the outcomes and resistance that came with it.”
These experiences growing up helped motivate Googoo to support Logan Prosper, a 16-year-old Mi’kmaq hockey player who faced racist taunts last year during a game in Chéticamp. When Prosper spoke out against his treatment, Googoo and the Mi’kmaq community created the Red Stick Campaign, which gained national attention for its efforts to raise awareness of racism in minor hockey.
Event organizer Kate Beaton speaks at the Mabou Community Rally Against Racism on June 13.
The rally concluded with a message from event organizer Kate Beaton, a renowned cartoonist and children’s book author who was born, raised, and lives in Mabou.
“We must recognize that it is not up to the victims of racism to end it. It is up to the perpetrators and benefactors of racism. It is up to us,” said Beaton.
“So let today be the beginning – we might be coming to this several hundred years too late, but we cannot let our fear and guilt further perpetuate our apathy,” continued Beaton. “We are not alone, we are not powerless. Let’s commit today to ending racism in Inverness County, in Nova Scotia, in Canada. And let’s commit to holding one another to it.”
Organizers said they will be sending out an invitation to all those who participated at the rally, or are otherwise interested in anti-racism action in Inverness County, to join a mailing list to help stay involved and facilitate further action in the future.
Morgan Toney, from We’koqma’q First Nation, offered music and remarks during the rally and march on June 13.