SOUTH DEERFIELD — Community members lined up along Main Street on Saturday in a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Holding signs and waving to passersby, people stood on the sidewalks of Main Street between the Conway and Pleasant street intersections. They held posters with phrases such as “Black Lives Matter,” “Justice” or “I can’t breath.”
There were no speeches or chants, but a number of vehicles driving by honked in support of the people on the sidewalks.
The two-hour vigil was organized by Deerfield resident Amy Gazin-Schwartz.
“There’s a lot of people here … who are committed to change and ending racism,” said Gazin-Schwartz, who has lived in Deerfield since 1991.
She said one of her goals for the vigil was to bear witness to the realities and evils of racism.
“For me (that’s) saying, “We see you; we hear what you’re saying. Most importantly, we believe you,” she said.
Gazin-Schwartz also hopes the show of support by individuals at vigils like the one in Deerfield help to effect change in the social, economic and political structures that need to be changed in order for real change to happen.
Two Deerfield residents who came out to the vigil on Saturday were Grace Spencer and her father, Mark.
Grace, 13, said she was on Main Street holding a sign with the words, “Black Lives Matter” in bold print because of what happened to George Floyd, a black man who killed while in the custody of police officers in Minneapolis.
“That’s not OK,” she said. It’s time for change, she said.
“Things have gotten better over the years,” Grace said. “But there’s still a lot to do.”
A similar show of support for the movement was displayed by residents of Orange on Saturday morning at Memorial Park.
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263.