Rally for Racial Justice

In the wake of the extrajudicial killing of George Floyd in May 2020, a group of former MPS students organized a Rally for Racial Justice in Midland on June 7, 2020. The students were supported by a local organization, Women of Michigan Action Network (WOMAN). Part of a wave of demonstrations across the nation, Midland’s rally drew a crowd of more than 1,200.

The rally gathered at Ashman Circle to hear speakers talk about racism and police brutality. Many shared personal experiences. Jonathan Haynes tied the past and present together: “The same anti-blackness that fueled the Atlantic slave trade is the same anti-blackness that drove the Jim Crow era in the deep South and a lot of segregationist policies throughout the 20th Century. It’s the same anti-blackness that results in the murders of people like Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland and George Floyd.”

After the speeches, the crowd began a march down Saginaw Road, from the Circle south to Eastlawn Drive and back to the Circle. Originally the police department requested marchers remain on the sidewalks, however, the sidewalks could not contain the huge crowd. People marched directly down the street, shutting down traffic on Saginaw Road. They carried signs expressing solidarity and demanding justice. They chanted. When the procession had nearly returned to Ashman Circle, the marchers paused and dropped to their knees or even laid out on the ground for nine minutes and … seconds, the length of time a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyd’s neck while he was handcuffed and defenseless, which killed him.

After the march, many remained on the Circle as the Midland Area Interfaith Friends held a “Vigil for Justice,” and offered prayers for justice so there can be healing and reconciliation.