Protesters call for police defunding, trans rights at afternoon rally
Author of the article:Alanna Smith
Publishing date:Aug 30, 2020 •
Hundreds came out to march in the Defund the Police national protest along with Black Trans Lives Matter and DefundYYC, with the support of Idle No More through downtown Calgary on Saturday, August 29, 2020. PHOTO BY DARREN MAKOWICHUK /Postmedia
Several hundred Calgarians rallied in solidarity with people in cities across Canada to defund the police and redistribute funds into community supports.
The local rally began at Sien Lok Park in Calgary’s core on Saturday afternoon before participants marched through the downtown streets to city hall — pausing at busy intersections with their fists in the air while chanting “Black Lives Matter,” “Black Trans Lives Matter” and “No justice, no peace, no racist police.”
Calgary’s weekend rally was organized by Defund YYC and the local Black Lives Matter chapter, with support from Idle No More and the Land Back movement.
“We don’t want to abolish the police department. We want to defund the police department and the reason for this is Calgary has one of the richest police departments in the whole country,” said Kay Layton, executive director of the Black Lives Matter chapter in Calgary.
“Money equals power and, as we can see, police have been abusing their power.”
The annual policing budget in Calgary exceeded $400 million last year.
While Calgarians took to the streets so did hundreds of others in cities across the country, including Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, London and Moncton, drawing attention to police brutality and systemic racism.
We’re here at Sien Lok Park for today’s #DefundThePolice national protest, taking place in cities across Canada. @calgaryherald @calgarysun #yyc pic.twitter.com/3TJgL6S5K4— Alanna Smith (@alanna_smithh) August 29, 2020
The nationwide rallies came just days after Jacob Blake, a Black man from Wisconsin, was shot multiple times by police there, further igniting outrage in the U.S. and elsewhere.
The incident involving Blake is the latest in numerous high-profile cases and killings where Black people have been the subject of police brutality. Layton said “it’s been a rough year” before talking about a video recording of Blake being shot.
Several hundred Calgarians rallied in solidarity with people in cities across Canada to defund the police and redistribute funds into community supports.
The local rally began at Sien Lok Park in Calgary’s core on Saturday afternoon before participants marched through the downtown streets to city hall — pausing at busy intersections with their fists in the air while chanting “Black Lives Matter,” “Black Trans Lives Matter” and “No justice, no peace, no racist police.”
Calgary’s weekend rally was organized by Defund YYC and the local Black Lives Matter chapter, with support from Idle No More and the Land Back movement.
“We don’t want to abolish the police department. We want to defund the police department and the reason for this is Calgary has one of the richest police departments in the whole country,” said Kay Layton, executive director of the Black Lives Matter chapter in Calgary.
“Money equals power and, as we can see, police have been abusing their power.”
The annual policing budget in Calgary exceeded $400 million last year.
While Calgarians took to the streets so did hundreds of others in cities across the country, including Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, London and Moncton, drawing attention to police brutality and systemic racism.
We’re here at Sien Lok Park for today’s #DefundThePolice national protest, taking place in cities across Canada. @calgaryherald @calgarysun #yyc pic.twitter.com/3TJgL6S5K4— Alanna Smith (@alanna_smithh) August 29, 2020
The nationwide rallies came just days after Jacob Blake, a Black man from Wisconsin, was shot multiple times by police there, further igniting outrage in the U.S. and elsewhere.
The incident involving Blake is the latest in numerous high-profile cases and killings where Black people have been the subject of police brutality. Layton said “it’s been a rough year” before talking about a video recording of Blake being shot.
Hundreds came out to march in the Defund the Police National Protest along with Black Trans Lives Matter and DefundYYC, with the support of Idle No More through downtown Calgary on Saturday, August 29, 2020. PHOTO BY DARREN MAKOWICHUK /Postmedia
“We ain’t even over George Floyd. We ain’t even over Breonna Taylor. We ain’t over Michael Brown. We ain’t over Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice. We ain’t over Sandra Bland,” he said.
“Every time we get to the point where we’re wiping our tears off our face, some bulls–t like this happens again and we have to come out here and fight for freedom again.”
The Calgary march coincided with the Stonewall March and Rally organized by Rights for All Refugees in Canada (RARICA NOW) to support LGBTQ rights.
RARICA founder Abedayo Katiiti led much of the protest speaking about the importance of celebrating and protecting Black trans lives.
“Stonewall means fight back,” said Katiiti at city hall, holding a Black Panther figurine. “Black trans lives matter. We are a group of people who are committed to centring and serving the most marginalized members of our communities leaving nobody behind.”
The Stonewall uprising took place in New York City in 1969 after police raided a bar that served the city’s gay, lesbian and transgender community which sparked a series of demonstrations.
“This laid the foundation for the (continued) reclaiming of Pride and centring the queer, trans, Indigenous, Black, people of colour voices in restoring the radical and (anti-oppressive) roots of the queer revolution,” said Katiiti.
“We ain’t even over George Floyd. We ain’t even over Breonna Taylor. We ain’t over Michael Brown. We ain’t over Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice. We ain’t over Sandra Bland,” he said.
“Every time we get to the point where we’re wiping our tears off our face, some bulls–t like this happens again and we have to come out here and fight for freedom again.”
The Calgary march coincided with the Stonewall March and Rally organized by Rights for All Refugees in Canada (RARICA NOW) to support LGBTQ rights.
RARICA founder Abedayo Katiiti led much of the protest speaking about the importance of celebrating and protecting Black trans lives.
“Stonewall means fight back,” said Katiiti at city hall, holding a Black Panther figurine. “Black trans lives matter. We are a group of people who are committed to centring and serving the most marginalized members of our communities leaving nobody behind.”
The Stonewall uprising took place in New York City in 1969 after police raided a bar that served the city’s gay, lesbian and transgender community which sparked a series of demonstrations.
“This laid the foundation for the (continued) reclaiming of Pride and centring the queer, trans, Indigenous, Black, people of colour voices in restoring the radical and (anti-oppressive) roots of the queer revolution,” said Katiiti.
Hundreds came out to march in the Defund the Police National Protest along with Black Trans Lives Matter and DefundYYC, with the support of Idle No More through downtown Calgary on Saturday, August 29, 2020. PHOTO BY DARREN MAKOWICHUK /Postmedia
Other participants shared their personal experiences, spoke about solidarity with other movements, drew attention to ongoing issues of racism that impact Black and Indigenous people and the importance of ongoing allyship from white people.
Speaker Faisal Kirumira said: “The question today is not if we defund the police, what will happen to the police? The question is if we do not defund the police what will happen to the Black lives being lost? If we do not defund the police, what will happen to the Indigenous lives being lost?”
LJ Joseph, vice-president of Calgary’s Black Lives Matter chapter, said people can find more information about the defund the police movement at blacklivesmatteryyc.com or defund.ca — where pre-composed emails and social media posts are available to send to local politicians.
There were some agitators present at the Saturday rally but the protest remained peaceful.
Other participants shared their personal experiences, spoke about solidarity with other movements, drew attention to ongoing issues of racism that impact Black and Indigenous people and the importance of ongoing allyship from white people.
Speaker Faisal Kirumira said: “The question today is not if we defund the police, what will happen to the police? The question is if we do not defund the police what will happen to the Black lives being lost? If we do not defund the police, what will happen to the Indigenous lives being lost?”
LJ Joseph, vice-president of Calgary’s Black Lives Matter chapter, said people can find more information about the defund the police movement at blacklivesmatteryyc.com or defund.ca — where pre-composed emails and social media posts are available to send to local politicians.
There were some agitators present at the Saturday rally but the protest remained peaceful.
Hundreds came out to march in the Defund the Police national protest along with Black Trans Lives Matter and DefundYYC, with the support of Idle No More through downtown Calgary on Saturday, August 29, 2020. PHOTO BY DARREN MAKOWICHUK /Postmedia
Hundreds attend Calgary protest to defund police and support Black trans lives
Nationwide protests scheduled in multiple Canadian cities to defund police
CBC News · Posted: Aug 29, 2020
Hundreds attend Calgary protest to defund police and support Black trans lives
Nationwide protests scheduled in multiple Canadian cities to defund police
CBC News · Posted: Aug 29, 2020
Demonstrators hold signs at a rally in Calgary calling for police to be defunded. (CBC)
Hundreds attended a demonstration in Calgary today in conjunction with a nationwide effort to defund the police and redistribute those funds into community initiatives.
The rally, which was organized by the Defund YYC group and the Black Lives Matter chapter in Calgary, began at 1 p.m. at Sien Lok Park in southwest Calgary before demonstrators marched to city hall for a rally that started at 2:30 p.m.
LJ Joseph, vice-president of Calgary's Black Lives Matter chapter, said Defund YYC had partnered with Black Trans Lives Matter, which had already planned to hold a rally Saturday before the nationwide protests were scheduled.
"First, we want people to rally behind Black trans lives, because they matter," Joseph said. "And then, obviously, the police sometimes aren't keeping them safe, and that's why it's important for them to have this defund movement behind them."
ANALYSIS The complexity and the urgency behind calls to defund the Calgary police
Defunding the police, Joseph said, means redistributing funds from policing into underfunded social programs. Calgary's police budget is funded by more than $400 million each year.
"I understand that people are thinking, well, if you take money away from police, there will be less police and more crime," Joseph said. "But if you take police off of certain programs and put them back on patrol, you don't need more cops. We're not asking for you to dismantle the police."
The City of Calgary is set to meet with the Calgary Police Service on Sept. 10 to discuss how to address systemic racism.
Hundreds attended a demonstration in Calgary today in conjunction with a nationwide effort to defund the police and redistribute those funds into community initiatives.
The rally, which was organized by the Defund YYC group and the Black Lives Matter chapter in Calgary, began at 1 p.m. at Sien Lok Park in southwest Calgary before demonstrators marched to city hall for a rally that started at 2:30 p.m.
LJ Joseph, vice-president of Calgary's Black Lives Matter chapter, said Defund YYC had partnered with Black Trans Lives Matter, which had already planned to hold a rally Saturday before the nationwide protests were scheduled.
"First, we want people to rally behind Black trans lives, because they matter," Joseph said. "And then, obviously, the police sometimes aren't keeping them safe, and that's why it's important for them to have this defund movement behind them."
ANALYSIS The complexity and the urgency behind calls to defund the Calgary police
Defunding the police, Joseph said, means redistributing funds from policing into underfunded social programs. Calgary's police budget is funded by more than $400 million each year.
"I understand that people are thinking, well, if you take money away from police, there will be less police and more crime," Joseph said. "But if you take police off of certain programs and put them back on patrol, you don't need more cops. We're not asking for you to dismantle the police."
The City of Calgary is set to meet with the Calgary Police Service on Sept. 10 to discuss how to address systemic racism.
LJ Joseph with Black Lives Matter says she'll be waiting to hear what comes of the city's meeting with Calgary police next month. (CBC)
Other rallies were scheduled today in cities such as Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. Saturday's rallies came the same week as the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot by police in the back seven times as he attempted to enter his vehicle in Kenosha, Wis.
It will take 'a miracle' for Wisconsin man shot by police to walk again: family lawyer
Saturday's Calgary event was also held with the support of Idle No More and the Land Back movement.
"Land Back is an integral movement with the aim to end colonialism which supports anti-Blackness and oppression," organizers said in a release.
"The defund the police movement aims to reorganize society to support humanity rather than simply interrupt crime caused by the lack of community support."
Partway through the march, protesters took a knee and raised a fist in solidarity.
The organizers behind Calgary's event asked participants to practice physical distancing, wear a mask and use hand sanitizer.
Aug 30, 2020 8:36 AM MT
Other rallies were scheduled today in cities such as Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. Saturday's rallies came the same week as the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot by police in the back seven times as he attempted to enter his vehicle in Kenosha, Wis.
It will take 'a miracle' for Wisconsin man shot by police to walk again: family lawyer
Saturday's Calgary event was also held with the support of Idle No More and the Land Back movement.
"Land Back is an integral movement with the aim to end colonialism which supports anti-Blackness and oppression," organizers said in a release.
"The defund the police movement aims to reorganize society to support humanity rather than simply interrupt crime caused by the lack of community support."
Partway through the march, protesters took a knee and raised a fist in solidarity.
The organizers behind Calgary's event asked participants to practice physical distancing, wear a mask and use hand sanitizer.
Aug 30, 2020 8:36 AM MT
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