Vigil held in honor of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter

A group of approximately 20 people gathered next to City Hall for a vigil in honor of George Floyd, and the Black Lives Matter movement. A moment of silence was observed for eight minutes and 45 seconds, the length of time that Derek Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck.

Irene McArthur, who attended the event and held a sign reading “I Can’t Breathe” said that Floyd’s death needs to be a wakeup call.

“Right then and there I knew it was time for change. Everybody knows, everybody’s seen it.”

For her, the most difficult part was explaining what happened to Floyd to her sons.

“My two youngest sons watched that video, they were traumatized by it. “Why is it like that all the time?” they said. And I said, you know what, this is how it is. It’s a harsh reality son. It’s a harsh reality for Indigenous communities to face racism every single day, even as a young child. I had to explain all of that to him, it’s traumatizing for kids, it’s traumatizing for everybody and it has to change, it has to stop. The systemic racism is never-ending in Canada, in the United States, everywhere.”

Linda Osachoff was another attendee. She said she drove an hour to join people in Yorkton, who are joining people around the world, to share solidarity and call attention to racism that exists in our country.

“I think we, as Canadians, often feel as if we’re kind and polite, and we’re not racists, that’s enough. But it’s very clear that’s no longer enough at all, we have to be very thoughtfully and purposefully anti-racist, and stand up to the injustice that exists against our black and indigenous brothers and sisters. Not just in everyday actions, but in policies and procedures that need to change as well.”

Osachoff points to the lack of action on the report of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, and she believes that concrete action on that report is something Canada needs to do.

“So often, we can report and investigate and research an issue to death, but the follow up action is there, and we really need to start delivering on our promises.”

Fred Slater was at the event holding a sign reading “BLM. Police the Police.” He said that it was important to come out and speak out against injustice and oppression faced by black communities and indigenous communities in Canada, especially by peace officers, as they try to go about their daily lives.

“I hope that what people take away from this is that no matter who you are or where you come from, we can all just band together and unite as one against the injustice and police brutality that goes on. We can hold everybody accountable to the same measures no matter who they are and together we can get through this and have a brighter day.”

It’s important to remember that racism isn’t a problem that only affects larger cities or other countries, but that it’s everywhere, including Yorkton, McArthur said.

“I faced it a lot in town here. I can walk in, and no one will acknowledge me. A non-indigenous person walks in, they get all the attention. They get greeted, people are kind to them. That’s got to stop. It’s a new age, it’s 2020, it’s a diverse community, a diverse world. There’s still no acceptance of black people or First Nations people.”

McArthur said that it was a great turnout for a small town, and she said that it’s a good start.

“It starts at home. Then it’ll trickle to the schools. The teachers need to make that change too.”

Encouraged by the young crowd at the vigil, she said that they will be the ones that make the world change.

“The young people are going to be the ones that change for us.”

Two of the young people that McArthur spoke about at the event were Mallory and Morgan Johnson. The Esterhazy youth travelled to Yorkton to be part of the vigil, holding signs. Mallory said that their goal was to be part of the change, more than staying at home, but getting involved.

“We need a major change to stop this,” said Mallory.

“We need improvement in the justice system throughout the world,” added Morgan.

McArthur noted that in previous cases, like Tina Fontaine, Colton Boushie and Colin Stonechild, it didn’t make anyone change their way of thinking, instead focusing on victim blaming.

“If it was a non-indigenous man lying there, he would still be alive today, if it was a black man who did it to him, he would have been in prison in a minute… It’s just a harsh reality, I’m not going to sugarcoat the truth, racism is alive and well all over the world, even in this tiny little town of Yorkton.”

The value of these protests, said McArthur, is to wake up the world, and to make people aware of the racism that surrounds them and spur on real change.

“They put Indigenous communities in a lower class and they think that’s normal. Right now, at this point, and from this moment on, it’s not normal.”

McArthur hopes that with people spurred to action from Floyd’s death, there will be less of a need for these protests in the future, because she wants this to be the catalyst that spurs change in the world

“I’m hoping that this man changed the world. I hope people stop and listen now. It took a black man to be murdered in cold blood to make the world stop and say, enough is enough.”

Osachoff said the vigil in Yorkton gave her hope.

“What you have here is a solid group of people, each with a candle, and you know, it only takes one spark to begin to fan a flame of awareness and peace and hope for a better tomorrow.”

Slater was proud to be part of the protest.

“I’m really proud of us, I’m really thankful for the organizers and everybody who made this happen. I’m glad that we could be a part of this, and not just turning a blind eye and saying we’re doing enough as it is. I think we need to go that extra step and say that we’re with everybody.”
Osachoff said there’s no reason to be divided, and that there’s every reason to come together.

“We’re all human, we all bleed the same color, and it’s got to stop,” said McArthur.