Peaceful protest calls locals to keep paying attention

While three recent seemingly racially motivated deaths culminating in the death of George Floyd on a street in Minneapolis at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin have to led to protests accented with violence and destruction in some cases to acts of compassion and kindness across the nation recently, ONE-Dubois County held a peaceful protest around the Jasper Square Saturday morning.

More than 200 people of all ages and races circled the county courthouse with homemade signs from about 10 a.m. to noon. Those signs featured phrases of support for people of color, condemned the violence perpetrated against them, or simply listed the names of the many people of color who have been killed by violence propagated by police or individuals acting as vigilantes in the United States.

The impromptu gathering came together quickly after news of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis was released last week. Thursday, the day before Chauvin was charged with murder in Floyd’s death, ONE-Dubois County put out the word about the courthouse event. In a few hours, more than a hundred people had already responded to the event post on Facebook.

Saturday, people began walking up to the courthouse in small groups prepared to add their voices to what has become an international response to racism and discrimination. Some were given signs prepared in advance by members of ONE-Dubois County but many already had signs of their own.

By 10:30 enough people had arrived that a nearly continuous human line — broken by social distancing guidelines — wrapped around the courthouse on the curb of the street. Many motorists passed through honking and waving at the group in encouragement. According to organizers, only a single person was belligerent as they drove around the square during the event that ended around noon.

“I am overwhelmed by the number of people who showed up today,” said co-organizer Allison Wagner. “It’s heartwarming to say the least that there are this many people in our small community who care and are willing to use their voices to speak up.”

Allison said that social injustice in our country has broken her heart for many years.

“Social injustice is more than just about racism, there are so many groups that need allies from the white population,” she said. “It is important that white people educate themselves and then educate and motivate people in their inner circles to do the same.”

Wagner said that we have a social responsibility to speak out against racism.

“There’s no such thing as ‘not racist’. You are either anti-racist or part of the problem if you’re not actively working and using your platform with your white privilege to speak out and try to dismantle the systemic racism in this country,” she said while admitting she used to be that person who would state they weren’t racist while sitting in the comfort of her white feminism and privilege.

She admitted the gathering was small compared to other areas of the country. “This isn’t much, we are in this small town, right,” Wagner said. “But it is what we can do and if we have piqued the interest of even 20 people that have driven through and they read more and learn more, then that is a win.”