Their Voices: The Experience of Protest Based on Principles

Introducing “Their Voices”

As the protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police on May 25 have grown nationwide, the multi-racial, multi-generational protest activities appear to have become a movement. Not since 1968 has the nation seen such a united effort to overcome racial injustices. Today and over the next several days, Ark Valley Voice sets out to represent the protest experience of 2020, keeping identities concealed because of what they experienced.

This is Her Voice

She is a 23-year-old white woman who grew up in Colorado and attended school at Metropolitan State University (MSU). Currently she works for a grocery store, but it should be noted that she is also a member of the creative community.

She currently lives in the Thornton area, She has been protesting in Denver for the Black Lives Matter movement, the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the countless other lives taken at the hands of  brutality from law enforcement and those who take justice into their own hands.

Due to her civil disobedience, she has asked to remain anonymous. These are her experiences at the recent Denver protests, which are continuing.

When asked why she is protesting, she said “I have always been in alignment with this movement. Every time we’ve seen instances of police brutality or black people being murdered at the hand of cops, that’s always been something that has upset me. When George Floyd was murdered, I was immediately ready to get involved. It is not okay. We need reform. We need change. We need police officers held accountable. This is just the surface of what we need.”

A crowd of peaceful protestors at Civic Center Park. Courtesy photo.

She observed that most people at the protests wore facemasks and those who weren’t were “few and far between”. The protest organizers are offering hand sanitizer. “If they’re having people sign petitions, they have hand sanitizer available.”

Reflecting on what it means to be a white ally and a standout moment during her time at the protests, she told Ark Valley Voice, “I think good allyship in this is protecting black bodies and amplifying black voices. That’s what being a good white ally is for me.”

“I’ve seen some people protesting that are screaming over black organizers and I think that is a good example of what we should not be doing,” she added. “Seeing a black man in front of cops, my job as an ally is to stand there and make sure that nothing happens and to put myself in that situation. I have the privilege of not getting shot or being able to deescalate the situation.”

She said she first attended the Denver protest on Sunday, May 31 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. where she described the overall crowd as peaceful.

“I went down with a friend’s group. The tensions were high for the protestors because that Saturday had been violent, protestors were tear-gassed. Things got violent on the police end, so Sunday tensions were high because everybody was anticipating violence. We got to Civic Center and it wasn’t too long after we got there that the top of Civic Center was pepper-sprayed.”

Art by protestors. Courtesy photo.

“We were just standing there. There was nothing going on,” she explained. “They were just talking; we were in a crowd, but it was peaceful. It was confusing. I’m not sure the reason for pepper spray.”

“Then we marched. The marches are about four miles all through Denver. It was peaceful for the most part. At certain points, we came up to blockades of police and SWAT teams, but it did stay peaceful,” she added.

There was a specific moment on Sunday she wants to highlight; a moment that reinforced why these protests are not only needed, but necessary.

“We’re marching through Denver. We get to Union Station and there’s that restaurant there, The Thirsty Lion. Restaurants are open now. We’re protesting and there’s people sitting and eating their lunch and it was just this dissonance of ‘What are you doing? Why are you interrupting my lunch?’”

“It’s white people,” she went on. “I didn’t see any black people going to happy hour or sitting on a patio during this. That was definitely a dissonance we felt. ‘Sorry, we’re ruining your happy hour. You should be with us,’” she explained, frustrated.

On Monday, June 1, she dropped off supplies for her friends at the protests around 3 p.m. She described the setting as peaceful but left within the hour because she had to work.

Tuesday, June 2, she protested from 3 to 8 p.m. The curfew changed to 9 p.m. She explained that “there were police officers taking pictures with protestors. I’ve noticed that discrepancy in the media. The police chief of Denver walked with protestors on Monday and promised that he wasn’t going to be violent and that his department wasn’t going to be violent. After midnight, things did get violent.”

Asked about potential opportunists who are at the protests to cause chaos, she noted of the peaceful protestors “no one is provoking the police at all. We don’t go anywhere near them unless they blockade us. We’re chanting. We’re not instigating civilians that aren’t in the protest. We are asking them to come to protest, but we aren’t instigating.”

A protestor chained to the statue in front of the capital. Courtesy photo.

These marches move all-around Denver, covering a lot of ground. From the Capitol building, down to Union Station, Lower Downtown (LoDo), and even River North Arts District (RiNo). She discussed the difference between being in a protest and watching it on screen.

“I think there is a huge disconnect between watching what’s going on on a screen and being in it. It’s hot. You’re having to wear a mask. You’re out in a pandemic and you’re having to see Denver in this militant state. You’re walking past tons of people with guns. You’re putting your body and your safety in harm’s way. You’re walking four miles. It’s very intense.”

She wants to emphasize the treatment of peaceful protestors and again bring attention to why they are protesting in the first place. She said “all of this is bringing up police brutality. That is the point, but it is interesting to see that in protesting police brutality we’ve seen more of it.”

“The fact that they don’t use teargas in war, the Geneva Convention doesn’t allow it. That’s a war crime but somehow you can use that against civilians. That doesn’t make sense. They’re pepper bulleting medical staff who are trying to help protestors. That’s a war crime.”

“It brings into question, how are we treating peaceful protestors and civilians? This doesn’t fly in war, so why are we treating civilians like this? If you look at videos from protestors, it looks like a war,” she added. “It really shows their character and that this issue is a lot broader. How they handle protests. How they handle unrest or social injustice. It shows their issues with that.”

Reflecting on her time spent at the protests she said, “being out there is so powerful to see everybody together, everybody fed up with this violence. The fact that it is growing with momentum; it shows no signs of stopping and it gives me hope. We can’t stop until we get that change. This can’t keep happening.”