A protest against anti-black violence and racism took over the grounds in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday night.
Thousands attended the rally, which Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer said was peaceful.
The protest Sunday (May 31) comes after nearly a week of protests in the United States, which were sparked by a Minneapolis police officer seen on video kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died in custody after pleading that he could not breathe. Derek Chauvin was charged with murder Friday, and all four police officers present during Floyd鈥檚 death have been fired.
Floyd鈥檚 death was the latest in a series of confrontations, assaults and deaths of black Americans. On Feb. 23, Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was fatally shot in Georgia while jogging. On March 13, Breonna Taylor, 26, was killed during a nighttime 鈥渘o-knock warrant鈥� by plainclothes Louisville police officers. On May 25, a woman called the police on Christian Cooper to tell them he was 鈥渢hreatening [her] life鈥� when Cooper asked the woman to put her dog on a leash in New York鈥檚 Central Park.
In Canada, protesters also want answers about Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a black woman fell to her death from a 24th-floor apartment when police responded to a 911 call. Korchinski-Paquet鈥檚 death is being investigated by the police watchdog.
TY for exercising your right to lawful at the !
鈥� Adam Palmer (@ChiefPalmer)
TY to our officers for your professionalism & committment to !
Everyone went home safely in
..It鈥檚 a big crowd at the Vancouver Art Gallery for
鈥� Lindsay Brown (@Lidsville)
Incredible, hopeful, peaceful, determined crowd (masks on, 2m apart) at Art Gallery to protest racism and creeping fascism. 10,000 I guess. Lots of antifascists here , ya can't arrest us all 鉁娾湂
鈥� Jim Stanford (@JimboStanford)
Here's an amazing shot of the crowd outside the Vancouver Art Gallery today. Everyone of you that was there deserves a standing O for showing solidarity with our Black brothers and sisters.
鈥� Tej Dhaliwal (@DrDangles87)
this is the at the Vancouver Art Gallery downtown.
鈥� S鈨MMER 鉁婐煆解湂馃従鉁婐煆� (@summersincities)
Jacob Callender-Prasad, the organizer of the event, had called for Sunday rally to be peaceful.
鈥淲e do not need to riot in Vancouver, we do not need to destroy our community 鈥� that鈥檚 not needed here,鈥� Callender-Prasad said in a video posted to the Black Vancouver Instagram page.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not the same as the United States. We don鈥檛 have cops going around causing damage here.鈥�
Callender-Prasad has asked attendees to wear face masks and practice social distancing as COVID-19 precautions remain in effect in B.C. Organizers had expected about 1,000 to 2,000 people
Callender-Prasad said Sunday鈥檚 event would include a social media shoutout to U.S. President Donald Trump 鈥渢o ask him to actually push the governor in Minnesota, to push them to charge those other three officers.鈥�
Callender-Prasad said that although police brutality may be more prevalent south of the border, there are still issues in Canada to address.
鈥淲e still have instances in Canada of these unwanted and unfortunate events.鈥�
The Vancouver chapter of Black Lives Matter said it was not the organizer of the event but stood in solidarity with those protesting.
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