Taking full advantage of the still cool and breezy fair weather, demonstrators returned for the third week of recurring protests begun by the Algonkian Democrats. Over 35 protesters came out between 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to an overwhelmingly enthusiastic rush-hour traffic crowd.
Members of Herndon Reston Indivisible held up individual and group signs with their trademark neon yellow shirts. Returning demonstrators from previous weeks came with Black Lives Matter letters and new signs. HRI left a little earlier to attend an NAACP event in Fairfax.
As with other protests since the murder of George Floyd and his funeral just one week prior, the underlying issues go beyond justice for George Floyd and reforming the criminal justice system. Black Lives Matter, especially in the suburban context of Northern VA, is a lens for viewing the state’s history of systemic racism and its effects on community life. Many of the protesters see themselves as non-Black allies willing to listen to the Black voices and leadership of this movement.
This site, once the location of Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock, was the staging area of 2 years of sustained protest before she was ousted by Rep. Jennifer Wexton. Many of the 35+ protesters who came out last Tuesday were part of those demonstrations and the Blue wave that followed. They reminisced for a moment about that November election. The very next day, Trump fired Jeff Sessions, which set in motion a #ProtectMueller campaign that eventually brought over 500 demonstrators to this site by the end of the evening. (It even made Rachel Maddow!)
But dedicated protesters know that there’s protesting and holding up signs in public and then, there’s also the policy piece. Phyllis Randall, Loudoun County Board Chair, who spoke earlier this week at the NAACP March in Ashburn, has continued to draw political fire for wanting to take legal action to remove the Confederate Statue outside the Leesburg courthouse. Loudoun County Young Republicans see this as an opportunity to try to have her removed from office, but the decision about the statue will ultimately be decided locally, where it has support from many elected leaders in the county. Twenty-seven elected officials in Loudoun County were asked about this by the Loudoun Times-Mirror as a matter of public record.
Removing the statue isn’t the silver bullet to addressing issues of racism or abuse of power. But you can be sure that every member who shows up at these recurring rallies is registered to vote, and has activated their social connections to the 2nd and 3rd degree or more to do the same.
Getting Trump out is certainly top of the to-do list, but the coattails behind this unmasked Emperor are quite long: Maintaining the momentum of the Blue Wave; reaching out to help flip Senate seats elsewhere by contributions, postcard writing, phone banking, showing up at local board meetings, and staying on top of elected officials. The call to action from the Sunday NAACP event also mentioned the beginnings of community accountability boards for oversight on police and impacts on education.
Kristen Swanson, a regular protester on Rt 7 over the last several years attended both the Sunday NAACP event and Tuesday’s protest. I spoke with her about the two events and followed up with emails. She offered these thoughts:
I went to both events because I am angry that our country has utterly and completely failed to care for Black lives. Racial inequities and injustice shape every institution in our society and it is time for all Americans to say enough. For me, this means showing up with my body at every opportunity and it means listening to Black voices and Black leadership.
Sunday's overall message to the public was, "It is time to show up today, show up in school board and board of supervisors meetings, town council meetings, etc.... It is time to speak up with your body, your words, and your actions in local and state government. It is time to speak up in your neigborhoods, with your co-workers, family and friends. It is time to talk about racial injustice and policing and demand change and oversight."
Like many who came together to join Indivisible VA-10 or Herndon Reston Indivisible, Kristen would not have considered herself a political activist a few years ago. Yet, she has become one over the last four years. She goes on:
It is way past time for "non-political" people to show up and take responsibility for the racial inequity that permeates our nation. White folks can no longer linger on the sidelines. We must be in action. The suffering in communities of color is the suffering of an entire nation. We must feel this suffering in our bones and act accordingly.
Or as Phyllis Randall said in her closing remarks on Sunday:
Black people are not asking for anything but justice and equality. And EVERYONE better be happy about that…
I don’t want to hear about how you don’t like politics or how you’re not really into politics. I can tell as politicians, whether you’re into us, we’re into you.
All the policies we do impact and affect you.
She went on to make sure everyone was registered to vote or knew how to do so and suggested outreach to others to do the same. She urged people to DO SOMETHING! DO SOMETHING! Knock doors, make calls, grab a clipboard, sign a petition...because “Lawdy Dawdy! I’m going need everybody to vote because that’s what a movement looks like!”
(Note: Phyllis Randall, who has consistently called for following due process for the Confederate Statue removal, will make a motion on July 7 to have a public hearing scheduled for September. In the meantime, there’s plenty of time and means to weigh in with local officials on this matter.)