by Love and Rage Team

Following an impromptu rally in honor of George Floyd in Utica, NY today that drew a small crowd, a much larger demonstration is planned for tomorrow, May 31 at 2:30 PM in Kemble Park.

Protest organizers left the following message on the event’s facebook page:

Join us in a peaceful protest against the racist injustices and police brutality that plague America. We will be honoring George Floyd and every black life lost at the hands of this corrupt system. We will be doing a candle lighting in honor of all the black victims of the system as well as a moment of silence. Please bring a candle and wear all black.

*Please wear masks and gloves and for social distancing*

“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people” -MLK

Like the Minneapolis Police Department, the Utica Police Department has its own stained record of killing residents. The tragic death of the Black father and Utica resident Walter Washington in 2005 and of the indigenous Mohawk teenager Jessie Lee Rose in 2013, both at the hands of the Utica Police Department, are still open wounds for family and friends of the victims.

As anger against institutional racism, economic inequality and police violence grows as evidenced by the recent wave of mass protests across the nation, Utica residents are joining this recent wave of political unrest.