Grafton rallies in support of Black Lives Matter

Molly Dewar walked through the crowd lined up along Providence Road, leading a chant through a bullhorn borrowed from the police chief.

“Black lives matter!” she shouted. And the crowd, well over 100 Grafton residents, teenagers, adults, and kids, shouted back as cars drove by honking horns in support. “BLACK LIVES MATTER!”

If Dewar’s voice sounded a little hoarse, it was only understandable. For the 2016 Grafton High School graduate, it was her fourth protest this week. But this protest in her hometown — population 18,883, just 4.6 percent black — was different. She had started it.

The death of George Floyd on May 25 as a Minneapolis police officer ignored his plea of “I can’t breathe” and kneeled upon his neck created a storm of protests across the country. It took nearly nine minutes for Floyd to die, nine minutes of witnesses pleading on his behalf. Now his name is a rallying cry against police brutality and, in many cities, peaceful protests turned violent.

Not in Grafton.

On Monday, Dewar asked on social media if anyone was interested in a protest in Grafton. Eighteen people responded. Those 18 told friends. Their friends told friends. Signs were made.

“Grafton is such a close-knit, tight community,” Dewar said. “We support each other. And we support our black residents. Something has to be done to change things.”

Grafton Police Chief Normand Crepeau kept an eye on the protest from the sidelines, cautious after several social media posts alleging it was the action of outside agitators instead of locals. Other than laying some ground rules — stay off the street, wear masks to guard against COVID-19 transmission, no fisticuffs — there were no issues. Heck, the protest organizers even gave him additional batteries for his bullhorn.

“We’re all humbled by what happened in Minneapolis,” Crepeau said. “There is no excuse for it. It never should have happened. As police officers, everyone should be treated equally and, in Grafton, we are part of the community.”

One of the loudest voices was Rose Warfield, a Worcester Academy junior who kept up a steady yell from her corner of the protest.

“No matter how hard I should, it’s not enough,” she said. “I may not have a voice tomorrow, but I’m going to use my voice now to tell people that we need to come together.”

Like Grafton Common? Help support us on Ko-fi.

[kofi] https://ko-fi.com/jenniferpaluzzi