GREENFIELD — A group of residents from Greenfield and the surrounding communities gathered on the common Saturday afternoon for a rally in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died May 25 under the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis.
The “Justice for George Floyd” rally followed a motorcade that began in Erving and made its way through Millers Falls and Turners Falls before arriving at the Greenfield Common around noon.
“Why do we have to have one more man? … I’m just so upset about the whole thing,” said Moonlight Davis, who coordinated the event with his wife, Morningstar Chenven. “It’s time that we do something.”
In an emotional speech to a crowd that filled the common (in a socially distant manner), Davis recalled the riots and looting that took place in the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
“We were there to say, we are tired of being treated like this,” he said. “But you know, when poor people are in desperate situations, they do desperate things.”
In Minneapolis, rioters have reportedly looted, set fire to and vandalized businesses in the days since Floyd’s death.
“Last night, they were still angry,” Davis said of the rioters in Minneapolis. “Last night, they were still saying, ‘I don’t have what I need to live. Why can’t somebody give it to me?’”
In cities across the country, riots have broken out in solidarity.
“What does that say about us as Americans, and about this country?” Davis asked. “From 1968 to 2020, we are still doing the same thing.”
Reflecting on his own experience partaking in the events of 1968, Davis clarified that he wasn’t advocating for the looting and violence wreaking havoc on Minnesota.
“I am not making it right that it was done,” he said. “I am not saying that it should be done. I am not saying this is the way we get ahead.”
Rather, he said the people of Greenfield have an opportunity to address systematic racism and inequality in society by coming together and starting a dialogue.
“You’re up here,” Davis told his audience. “We’re not doing that. There’s nobody looting and stealing. We have an opportunity to join ourselves together and be one before it gets like that.”
He asked members of the crowd to instead get to know one another better.
“Find somebody of color, somebody different than yourself, and see what they’re like,” Davis said. “You’re not going to get to know anybody if you’re afraid to talk to them.”
Davis also said community members should open a dialogue with local police.
“In closing, I just want to say that if those folks in Minnesota would think about George Floyd and what he may have really wanted … what he really wanted was not to die,” he said. “That’s what he wanted. Do you remember the last word that boy said? ‘Oh, mama.’ And before that — ‘Help me, I can’t breathe.’”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263. Twitter: @MaryEByrne