‘NO JUSTICE! NO PEACE!’ A second Black Lives Matter protest seeks to amplify Black voices
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
Johanna Garraud, Danae Harper and Lauren Welch, all Grafton High School juniors, organized the protest rally. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
Select Bord Chairperson Jennifer Thomas was among the local politicians who took part in the protest. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
Johanna Garraud, Danae Harper and Lauren Welch, all Grafton High School juniors, organized the protest rally. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
Select Board candidate Mathew Often was among the local politicians who took part in the protest. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
Select Bord Chairperson Jennifer Thomas was among the local politicians who took part in the protest. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
Johanna Garraud, Danae Harper and Lauren Welch, all Grafton High School juniors, organized the protest rally. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
Johanna Garraud, Danae Harper and Lauren Welch, all Grafton High School juniors, organized the protest rally. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A protest organized by Grafton High School juniors was the second held in town for Black Lives Matters. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI
One student recalled an elementary school classmate examining her box braids and remarking that most Black people have “ghetto hair.”
Another wondered about the day when she will have to talk to her now 2-year-old relative about how to stay safe should he encounter a police officer — a conversation that happens daily in Black households.
A girl of Asian descent spoke of a salesman who mistook her for an adult, freely commenting at length that Asians never age.
These were some of the experiences shared during Sunday’s Black Lives Matter protest, organized by three Grafton High School juniors with the specific goal of amplifying Black voices to educate their peers in a majority-white town.
“I think we’re just fed up with everything that’s happening in the world,” said Johana Garraud, who joined Lauren Welch and Danae Harper in leading the protest. “We want to help Black people come forward and share their stories.”
As with the protest Thursday night, the crowd gathered in front of Grafton High School, waving hand-lettered signs, responding to chants and cheering when drivers went by honking their horns in support.
A few drivers gave the finger. But they were few and far between.
Before handing a microphone to anyone who wanted to speak, the organizers asked for a moment of silence in memory of George Floyd, whose death under the knee of a Minneapolis Police officer last month sparked outrage and protest nationwide. For nine minutes, the crowd took a knee. Just a few minutes in, some wobbled. Others shifted position. Nine minutes, the time in which Floyd gasped for his life under pressure, is quite a long time to take a knee.
Some parents brought their children, hoisting them to their shoulders with their own signs. Others urged those coming into voting age to make sure they come out to the polls to vote. Masked against COVID-19, unused to crowds after months of social distancing inside their homes, they squinted to recognize half-covered faces. White and Black and Asian, they waved their signs.
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