Resident hosts peaceful protest, march in support of BLM movement

June 16, 2020 | Danielle Eaton
DanielleE@thereminder.com

Dozens of people marched down the streets of Agawam on June 10 in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. In addition to voicing their support of BLM, the protestors also spoke out against racism within the town and police brutality across the country.
Reminder Publishing photo by Dave Hosmer

AGAWAM – Dozens of people marched down the streets of Agawam on June 10 in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. In addition to voicing their support of BLM, the protestors also spoke out against racism within the town and police brutality across the country.

Agawam resident, Jenni Ortega, organized the march with the help of volunteers and other residents. She said she initially began to organize the protest in Agawam when she couldn’t go to protests happening in surrounding communities.

“I wasn’t able to attend the protests around us in surrounding cities, but I was thinking I really wanted to, [then] thought why isn’t Agawam having one,” she said.

Ortega said she felt it was important to attend a protest and march within her own town, with people she knew. “I wanted to go to one in my community, wanted to be with my neighbors,” she said. “[I] figured it wasn’t done yet, so I wanted to do it.”

Ortega said she felt “it was really important that Agawam stand up for this.” She said she felt so strongly that the community stand up for the BLM cause because she, herself, has spent more than a decade living in the town that is largely white.

“We have about 20,000 [people] and the majority of which are caucasian. I think for the cause, the whole movement, it’s for everybody,” she said. “For everybody to come together and stand out against racial injustice. How awesome would that be? We’re all in this fight together.”

Protestors, however, were met with pushback from counter-protestors and social media comments. “There was definitely a lot of pushback, a lot of resistance and unfortunately a lot of hateful, very mean things shared,” she said. Ortega said the hate just made her realize how important the march truly was.

“It only made me think we need this more than ever. The alarming thing for me to see was how much backlash [I got] about a peaceful approach. We literally [are] going to march from one location to another,” she said. “I’m so surprised because I’m coming at this with peace, coming at this with unity and coming at this with being very, very clear that it is not pinning one race to another.”

However, the hatred did not define those who attended the march and spoke about the protest on social media. Ortega said she also saw people take a stand against racism and hatred within the town of Agawam. “I can’t only say negative things, there were other people that came in and put their two cents in and said ‘We don’t want to be known as the town that has all these thoughts about being a racist town,’” she said. “A lot of people [were] standing up that wanted to participate and wanted to fight for racial and justice, and do it peacefully.”

Ortega said following the protest, she would be in communication with fellow Agawam resident, Corrine Grossberg, “to come up with a group in Agawam against racial injustice.” Ortega spoke highly of Grossberg, who she said had “commented on a lot of posts echoing what I’m saying,” including speaking of peace and the need for racial equality. Ortega said she has been very calculated in her responses to the hatred she received. “I’ve been very careful in my response, careful to not respond with hate back. We need to continue to be peaceful and as kind as possible, and that has really not been easy,” she said. “But if I were to combat it with the same kind of violence and hatred I’ve been receiving, the point would get lost.”

The march, which kicked off at the Agawam High School on 760 Cooper St. at 5 p.m., ended at the Agawam Police Station on 681 Springfield St. Ortega said prior to the march, at the high school, there had been a brief speaking portion.

Her hope for the march, she said, was simply “to get a message across to as many people as possible that we stand united, and we stand in solidarity with our black community.”

“I want the message to be very clear that it’s not only one life that matters. All lives need to unite for black lives right now because they’re the ones getting oppressed and killed,” she said. “They need us to be together and for them in this time.”

Ultimately, Ortega said she was glad the protest took place and that it brought the community together. “This needed to happen. We needed to shake Agawam up a little, there are racial undertones in the town that we need to get rid of,” she said. She added that even if the racial undertones had gone on for years, “at least we’re speaking up against it now.”

 

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