A Chilliwack march has been planned to support American protests against police brutality.
Chilliwack Black Lives Matter March is being organized for Friday, June 5. It will begin at Chilliwack secondary school at 4 p.m., and end at the Chilliwack Coliseum at 6 p.m.
The organizer is 17-year-old Leandra Soliel, and she’s inviting people to bring signs, drums, and other forms of artistic expression.
People can join for the whole march, a duration of the march along the route, or at either the beginning or end points.
“My hope is that we all stand in solidarity and show that as youth and as a city we are not okay with what is going on with the injustice African Americans face,” she said. “I’m hoping that we are able to create a type of a energy in the city that we will not be silent about racism.”
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What the organizers won’t tolerate is any violence or chaos, such as has been popping up in marches around North America.
“This is a peaceful protest,” she said on the Facebook group, Chilliwack Black Lives Matter March. This won’t be her first time speaking out for others.
She marched in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en. She is also the aboriginal representative on her school’s student council.
“In school I am constantly writing about the injustice of indigenous woman and girls as much as I can,” she says.
A second protest is being planned in Chilliwack for Saturday, June 6 by another group. That will begin at 3 p.m. at Five Corners downtown, and stay on site.
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