Abigail Cushman, Section Editor
@abigailccourant
On May 25, George Perry Floyd, an African-American man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd lost his life when Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, kept his knee on the right side of Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds while Floyd lied in handcuffs with his face on the city street, stating that he could not breathe. Officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane were also present during the arrest. Floyd had been accused of buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill, and for that, he has lost his life.
The death of George Floyd has incentivized protests, and even riots, across America as upset emerges from Black Lives Matter movement supporters. In response to these events, senior Ethan Niang has decided to take action. Ethan and his family have organized a peaceful protest to begin at Saxe Middle School on Thursday, June 4 (postponed to this date due to thunderstorms on June 3), at 5:00 PM. Protesters will depart at 5:30 PM, walking to the New Canaan Police Station and back via Church Street and Main Avenue. The route intentionally avoids Elm Street and any stores that could be made targets or vandalized.
Ethan is one of the few African American students that have grown up in New Canaan. He said that “the problem with growing up black in New Canaan isn’t the police, or hate crimes, it’s that too many people don’t know that there’s a problem, and in my experience many people don’t believe you when you want to talk about it.”
Now, Ethan fully intends to talk about it. “We are protesting against the systematic oppression of black people and other minorities by police departments across the nation,” he said. The protest is not against the New Canaan Police Department, but instead, Ethan explained that “we are peacefully protesting as a community for justice for George Floyd. For many, we are protesting in favor of allyship and understanding, and against silence. We want to stand together and educate each other while putting forward a message of change and hope.”
For safety and precautionary purposes, the New Canaan police will be watching over the march. Ethan also said that “members of the police department, including the Chief and Lieutenants, will be marching with us. Clergy of multiple religions will be present.” Ethan predicts that other march-goers may include many current and former NCHS students. However, he also said that “on Facebook the reception has been very good, and I can imagine we will see a lot of New Canaan’s parents and other adults there as well.”
As we are also facing a global pandemic during this period in time, masks will be provided, and social distancing will be strongly encouraged. Ethan’s mother addressed health concerns, saying that “Yes, being in a COVID-19 environment is scary and we are for sure concerned about that. On the other hand though, we can’t stay silent. If you want to join, feel free to do so, and if you are not comfortable for fear of COVID-19 we respect that too. Do what is best for you.”
At the protest, Ethan plans to pass out contact information of congresspeople as well as places to support. “There may be a group prayer. I plan to address the reasons for the protest, as well as what we can do to change things,” Ethan said. He also plans to share a collection of thoughts from the community, possibly reading the words of members of his family or people of color in New Canaan.
Throughout his entire life, Ethan has witnessed the poor treatment of African Americans within America. “I have learned the things they would not teach us in school. I know about Greenwood and the Tulsa race riots, I know about the MOVE Bombings, I know about George Stinney,” Ethan said. “The stares we get, the people who lock their doors when we walk past, the fact that no one on first impression believes we belong.”
People of color must defend themselves on a daily basis simply because of their skin tone. “We aren’t a threat; we don’t want to steal from you; we just want to be recognized; we just want to be greeted with smiles instead of stares,” Ethan said. “In affluent communities, racism is not loud or violent, it’s systemic, small and constant, and hopefully this protest will play a part in changing that.”
Ethan’s protest is contributing to a national plea that grows with every instance of race-based injustice. “On a local level, I am expecting people to put an effort into changing how they see black people, how they react to our presence, their assumptions about us,” Ethan said. “On a national level, I want our protest to become another small part of the outcry against racism. The more people and towns protest, the more the word gets out that we are tired of this, and we want change.”
