In the wake of this week’s police shootings resulting in the deaths of two Black men that many across the country deemed as avoidable, dozens of demonstrators gathered to stage an anti-police brutality protest outside of the UNM bookstore on Thursday evening.
After speakers spread messages encouraging community involvement, hope, unity and change, protesters occupied the intersection of Cornell Avenue and Central Drive for several minutes, bringing traffic to a brief standstill.
Participants also chanted messages such as "Black lives matter" and "No justice, no peace" and held signs carrying similar rhetoric.
“We wait for justice, you wait for us,” protesters said to frustrated motorists.
Participant Reggie Johnson said the peaceful gathering was a strong gesture given the current societal situation in which it is difficult to maintain focus and positivity. A similar protest on Thursday in Dallas ended in a shootout, resulting in the deaths of five police officers and sending six others to the hospital.
“It’s hard to not succumb to the weight of hatred.” he said, imploring onlookers to maintain the same hope held in common by proponents of past social movements.
“The foundation of every movement, why every movement worked (is) because the primary fueling substance was hope,” Johnson said.
Arthur Bell, said his brother was killed at the hands of police, and in order to create change, the community must recognize that it’s more important to stand up for one's community than it is to “get the money."
“Materialistic stuff like Jordans and cars and clothes, and all that extra stuff, means nothing if I end up a hashtag,” Bell said, while mentioning his two young children and the importance of being self-taught in the face of a system that doesn’t provide sufficient education of systemic issues.
“The way we get change, is to start waking up the people around us. It doesn’t come with just us," he said. "We can be as woke as we want to wake, but until we get all of our friends on the same page, nothing will change."
Hearing of families in other cities being met with the same injustice he experienced at the loss of his brother is almost like having to relive the tragedy, Bell said.
“To understand where somebody is coming from, you have to walk in their shoes, it’s easy to say what you would do or what you wouldn’t do,” he said. "At the end of the day, we’re only as strong as we are as a group. The more unity we have, the better chance we have to actually get something resolved.”
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This isn't the communities first foray into protesting what many see as unnecessarily police violence. In the spring of 2013, protests on Central Avenue turned to rowdy riots and eventually tear gas-laden chaos following the shooting of a homeless man in the Albuquerque foothills.
Although the protest was held in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement following the recent deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota, protester Wily Williams said “it could have been any of us right there that died.”
“A lot of us know people who have been killed by the police. A lot of us know people who have just been killed in general by this culture that we have been conditioned to believe in, and all of that needs to come to an end, not just when the police kill somebody,” he said.
Williams, an activist and organizer, said the level of community interest and concern over the issue is too inconsistent to bring forth change. While community gatherings and displays of solidarity bring attention to the forefront, they shouldn’t be reserved solely for episodes of outrage.
“We can’t just come out when people die in our community and we are outraged. We have to come out every week to show our children there’s a better future for them,” he said, pointing to his children and other youth at the protest. “They don’t just have the end of a (gun) barrel waiting for them when they grow up.”
Setting a proper example for the next generation of citizens lies at the heart of substantive change to the real-world conditions facing the community, Williams said. It starts with parenting.
“(Young Black parents) are so entrenched in popular culture, they think that’s what it is about, but that’s really not what it’s about. It’s about raising your kids and making sure they have a good head on their shoulders,” he said.
Overcoming the struggles inflicted upon the Black community will have to begin within the community, Williams said.
“A lot of us don’t want to change and let go of the streets, but do you want that for your kids? Do you want a jail cell for your kids? Do you want gang violence for them? Do you want your kids to get lynched by the police?" he asked. "Alright, brothers and sisters. We have a lot of work to do."
