"Love's In Need Of Love Today..."

I orginally posted this as a comment on a thread on the Facebook page of Kitsap Sun (https://www.facebook.com/KitsapNews/).  The comment thread is attached to a link Kitsap Sun posted there on Facebook, a link to their article about the action-in-solidarity-with-#BlackLivesMatter that we did in Bremerton, WA on Thursday, July 21st.  My posting (below) is in response to other comments made in that thread.

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Heya, Kitsap neighbors! I was at this gathering of solidarity yesterday. It's clear to me from some of the comments here that some people have been passed incorrect information it. So, I thought I'd share what I observed, since I was there:

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** 1. The Bremerton Police Department knew (in advance) all about this gathering of solidarity and, to my knowledge, expressed no problems with the gathering itself or with the location it. To the contrary, they offered support of the gathering; the BPD offered access (in advance) to the little parking lot adjacent to the building so that people who drove over for the gathering could use it.

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Chief Steve Strachan was there *at* the gathering in person, standing outside with us, for a good amount of time (I would guess at least 20-30 minutes), just chatting and such. I heard/saw nothing but positive exchanges between Chief Strachan and others gathered there. I didn't get a chance to speak to him personally because I was down the sidewalk just a little bit and keeping an eye on the kids who came with me; however, another person who was there (and who did chat with him at the time) let Chief Strachan know that I was interested in learning more about the Bremerton Police Department, its history, and its systems of working with the community and being accountable to the community. He expressed to this other person that he was looking forward to talking with me more about those things. I am stoked to talk with him and really appreciate his support of this solidarity gathering yesterday.

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So far, to me, everything expressed (verbally and behaviorally) by Chief Strachan indicates that he is invested in the Bremerton police force being accountable to the community, that he is invested in serving the community, and that he is invested in making space (physical space, conversation space, etc.) accessible to people who want to work together to make sure that Black Lives Matter to everyone so that we can get to the place where all lives matter to everyone. It seems clear to me that he values the importance of the citizens he serves being able to gather peacefully to share a message.

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** 2. This gathering yesterday resulted from a handful of local people searching each other out to come together to show solidarity in response to a broader nationwide call for people of conscious to express our desire for justice in our country. You can read more about that call to action here: http://freedomnow.movementforblacklives.org/.

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Our specific gathering yesterday wasn't organized, sponsored, etc. by any particular local group. It happened because local people (some whom already knew each other and some who met as recently as this past Saturday) found each other as they sought out ways to show solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter national movement and to take local action in response to the #MovementForBlackLives call to action for July 21st.

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There were white people and people of color at this event. I don't know everyone who was there and so don't know how they identify racially/ethnically. However, even based on the friends I came with alone, I can let you know that both white people and people of color were at this event. (I mention this as a clarification, since some comments on this thread have mentioned only white people being there.)

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Some of us who ended up gathering yesterday have expressed interested in forming a local ongoing community group of the national organization Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ), which has a purpose of "moving white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability." Nationally, SURJ works "to connect people across the country while supporting and collaborating with local and national racial justice organizing efforts" and "provides a space to build relationships, skills and political analysis to act for change." One thing I personally like about the SURJ model is that it includes strategies for how white people can work toward racial equity and liberation for all people and do so in ways that are accountable to people of color and their leadership.

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If anyone reads this and is interested in joining me and other people who are exploring the idea of getting a SURJ group started in Kitsap, please feel free to send me a FB email!

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** 3. The people gathered yesterday were completely peaceful. I heard/saw none of us curse at anyone at all. Also, the only interactions I saw with any police were the friendly chats with Chief Strachan. The only yells I ever heard coming from our gathered group happened the handful of times that people in cars drove past and yelled toward us some version or variation of "all lives matter." When that happened, there was a person in our group who would yell back toward them, "Great! Come and join us then!" in a positive and inviting tone. That certainly didn't seem disparaging to me.

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The majority of our gathering time (which lasted from about 5:15 p.m. until about 6:45 p.m.) was very quiet; when talking happened, it was mostly quiet chatting among ourselves. Basically, we stood quietly on the sidewalk (leaving plenty of space for pedestrians to walk past us) while holding signs that faced the street and keeping an eye on the kids with us, who played together in the small open courtyard space behind us. I don't have a full list of the signs that were held yesterday, but here is a sampling:

- Black Lives Matter

- One Bad Apple Does Spoil The Bunch: Nationwide, Comprehensive Police Reform Now

- (this is a kid's sign) Treat people how you want to be treated. Do you want to be treated badly because you look different?

- Solidarity

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** 4. Of the people who drove past on the street (Burwell) in front of us, most of them didn't make any noise or gestures in our direction at all. Most just glanced over at us or our signs as they drove past. So, their thoughts are their own; nobody but they know what their thoughts were.

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I would guess that only about 5-10% of the people who passed us engaged us in any way more than that. Of these who did engage more, I think the vast majority (I would guess about 75% of them) seemed to be communicating a sense of positiveness and/or support. These kinds of responses included things like: a honk paired with a wave and a smile, a honk paired with a thumbs-up out the car window, a yelled "thank you" from a passing car, a yelled "good for you" from a passing car, and other similar things. The remaining 25% of people who engaged more seemed to be communicating a dissent and/or lack of support. These responses included things like: flipping us off, a few curses yelled at us, a yell of "screw you, all lives matter" from a passing car, and other similar things.

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I hope these details have provided clarification, neighbors, from someone who was at the event.