Black Lives Matter rally and march, Seattle WA (Photos)

Black Lives Matter rally and march, Seattle WA (Photos) August 29, 2017

On Saturday, August 26, a Black Lives Matter rally and march was held in downtown Seattle, WA. News accounts suggest several hundred were in attendance, though I would say at least a thousand, perhaps 1500 people, were there. The event was organized by the Black Freedom Front of Seattle with the following message:

As we watch that hate and racism is alive and well in the United States- we must not only stand up to hate and racism but defeat it to as violence from racists and haters have rained down upon this nation as we seen in Virginia and other parts of this country

So join us and unite against hate and racism but let’s not just react but instead stand up and defeat racism and hate – will you join us and show this nation that hate and racism and intolerance is not accepted and not allowed in this country.

The most extensive news coverage of the event comes from the UW newspaper, The Daily:

“This is not about Virginia,” Partman [the event organizer, a.k.a. Mohawk] said, referring to events in Charlottesville earlier this month. “This is bigger than Virginia. This is about love conquering hate and that racism and bigotry can be defeated by you, and black liberation starts with you.”

Chanting “Racism, it ends with me. Black Liberation, it starts with me,” the group left Westlake down the middle of Pine Street to Second Avenue, before turning to head up Pike Street into Capitol Hill. Onlookers spilled out of shops and restaurants to take pictures and shoot video of those marching past.

As the group moved into the Capitol Hill neighborhood, several busses and cars were still temporarily trapped by the unpredictable crowd. A patient driver rested on the front bike rack of his parked bus, watching people pass by, while his riders recorded the chanting on their phones. One of his passengers expressed appreciation for the interruption and display of solidarity, wishing only that she had known ahead of time so she could have joined in.

Making her way back to Westlake with the last hundred or so remnants, Faro [who also spoke at the event] touched on another of the night’s themes, hope. She was heartened by the passion shown by her fellow marchers.

“It shows that everyone is ready to stand together and make their presence known as one and I think it’s pretty brilliant,” Faro said. “This needs to be consistent. As long we keep doing this, we can make some real change.”

Read more here from the Daily UW website. Below are my photos from the rally and march.

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A view of the Space Needle from the top of E. John Street, Capitol Hill, Seattle.

 

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