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ALSO COVERING AUBURNDALE, COLLEGE POINT, DOUGLASTON, GLEN OAKS, FLORAL PARK
• LITTLE NECK LEDGER
• WHITESTONE TIMES
Aug. 7-13, 2020
BLM protesters march through Bayside
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
More than 50 people united for a
Black Lives Matter demonstration that
began at Bowne Playground on Saturday,
Aug. 1.
The protest was organized by Warriors
in the Garden — a collective of
nonviolent activists dedicated to protecting
their community from all forms of
systemic oppression. They decided to return
to Bayside almost three weeks after
a BLM demonstration with the Bayside
BLM group turned hostile when some of
them came in contact with a pro-police
rally getting ready to march at Crocheron
Park.
That afternoon, less than a dozen
BLM protesters were met with verbal
abuse that turned into physical attacks
from some of the hundreds of people in
the “Blue Lives Matter” group, including
one woman who was slapped in the
face by an unidentified man wearing an
“NYPD” shirt and a 21-year-old protester
who was beaten and arrested by police.
On Sunday, July 26, some of the protesters
with Bayside’s BLM group and
Warriors in the Garden met outside of
the 111th Precinct — which had barricades
placed in the vicinity of the precinct
while almost two dozen police officers
watched the small demonstration.
The protestors were there to demand
answers after weeks of police not following
up with the Bayside woman who was
slapped in the face. Additionally, the protesters
questioned the arrest of another
BLM protester, who told QNS he didn’t
understand why police arrested and
charged him.
The NYPD has not answered multiple
follow up questions from QNS regarding
Photo by Dean Moses
these incidents.
On Saturday, the advocacy groups
were back to march toward the residential
neighborhood, made up of a predominantly
white and mid- to high-income
population, to march for justice and to
call attention to racism and police violence.
The march began the demonstration
in Flushing and turned onto Parsons
Boulevard, then Cherry Boulevard. Bicyclists
acted as protection for the march
and traffic control. No police cars were
in sight during the march.
Chants included “wake up, wake up,
this is your fight too,” “Show me what
democracy looks like, this is what democracy
looks like,” and “Show me what
community looks like, this is what community
looks like.”
The march then made its way onto
Northern Boulevard.
After crossing Francis Lewis Boulevard,
an organizer with Warriors in
the Garden played “This is America” by
Childish Gambino for a Black man with
his fist up outside of the car dealership.
By late afternoon, protesters arrived
at the 111th Precinct, which the NYPD
had blocked off in anticipation of the protests.
Protesters then stationed in front
of the precinct, with about a dozen police
officers behind the barricades, and had
several people who were at the other encounter
speak.
Kristen McManus, the Bayside woman
who was slapped in the face by an
unidentified man wearing an “NYPD”
shirt, said she wanted to take the time to
“address the police officers at the 111th
Precinct.”
“Hey guys, you remember me, I’ve
been here every week. You ignore me
but you can’t ignore all of us,” she said.
“There’s a strong narrative in this community
that you are the ones that keep
us safe, but you did not keep me safe,
you did not keep Yacine safe, you did not
keep anyone safe that day except for Blue
Lives b——-, that’s all you care about.
… I haven’t felt safe in this neighborhood
since that day.”
Before the protest turned around to
Bell Boulevard, a minor clash took place.
The same protester who got beaten by police
and arrested almost three weeks ago
attempted to climb onto one of the barricades,
although he was grabbed and
brought back to the ground by his fellow
protesters.
Several members of the crowd also got
into a verbal dispute about the incident
with the surrounding cops but further
escalation was avoided — one protester
who helped get the other person away
asked a police officer to say what they
said to him again while he was recording,
but didn’t get a response.
No one was arrested as a result of the
incident and the march continued as organizers
told protesters “not to engage.”
As protesters marched on Bell Blvd.
toward Crocheron Park, some people
taking advantage of outdoor dining in
the neighborhood held up their fists in
solidarity with the marchers.
Protesters then rested in the park
upon arriving around 5 p.m.
Read more on QNS.com.
Vol. 86 No. 32 24 total pages
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