SUNDERLAND — Nearly 40 people stood on the Sunderland Bridge on Wednesday afternoon to hold a vigil marking two years since the murder of George Floyd at the hands of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin.
People on the bridge held signs to raise awareness about the continued work they say must be done to battle racism in Franklin County and the nation. Many reflected on the progress racial justice movements have made in the country, but were quick to note racism continues to fester, as evidenced by the massacre last week at a Buffalo, New York grocery store that left 10 Black people dead.
“George Floyd’s murder, I think, kicked off a rising consciousness of the murder of Black people in America,” said Susan Triolo, a Sunderland resident and one of the event’s organizers. She noted, however, that meaningful progress has yet to be truly made.
“What we see is there is no significant change in terms of the ways white racism, white supremacy and police violence is still killing people every day,” she said.
Wednesday’s standout was the second in two years, with the organizing groups — the Sunderland Human Rights Task Force, the Greenfield-based Traprock Center for Peace and Justice, and the Deerfield Inclusion Group, among others — inviting residents to stand on Routes 2 and 116 with signs.
“This year’s standout was an outgrowth of our standout last year,” said Kim Audette of the Sunderland Human Rights Task Force. “We’re seeing the whole issue broaden. … More people are aware that it affects them.”
Deerfield resident Richie Allium said Floyd’s murder marked a “flash point” in the history of this country as people are beginning to “scratch the surface” of the effects of racism.
Allium said he is “very grateful” to live in a community where residents are trying to create a more just, welcoming society. He said it is up to communities to “find the path” toward that goal, and that there will always be people who disagree. Allium added he grew up in Buffalo and still has family there, and said last week’s shooting “really hits home.”
“Expect resistance,” he said. “Progress is not measured in years; progress is measured in generations.”
Carrie Klein, a Sunderland resident who was holding a banner with Allium, said it’s about bringing “a practice of justice in our daily lives.”
“There is one human race. The sooner we understand that, the sooner we can deal with what really matters,” Klein said. “It’s exciting to see people are standing up and speaking out.”
Sunderland resident Jay Baudermann agreed with those around him, saying “more people are starting to wake up to what it’s really like in a world where you are constantly bombarded by micro-aggressions.” Though more people are realizing this, he said, people need to continue raising awareness, adding that something like Wednesday’s standout is the “least we can do” to fight injustice.
“There are a lot of people who don’t agree with us,” Baudermann said. “I do like to believe it’s getting better, though.”