Agitation Rising was live at a memorial for George Floyd on the West Side of Bloomington on Allin Street Sunday, April 25th, 2021. It was titled “Waiting to Exhale” and was organized by the NAACP of Bloomington-Normal, Not In Our Town, and Moms Demand Action. It was held at the George Floyd Mural to celebrate the conviction of Derek Chauven for murdering George Floyd.
Which is better? Policy or performance? Changes in policy are more important and more impactful than changes in performance. Actions speak louder than words; and, policy speaks louder than gestures.
Virtual Town Hall: Discussion on Ending Money Bail organized to educate the public on ending money bail, the Pretrial Fairness Act, and future steps.
#EndMoneyBail
Co-hosted by: Wayman AME Church Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington Normal Bloomington-Normal Chapter of NAACP Bloomington-Normal League of Women Voters Coalition to End Money Bond Black Lives Matter Bloomington-Normal Bloomington-Normal Democratic Socialists of America YWCA McLean County Not In Our Town Bloomington-Normal
Those wishing to sign up for ‘Decarcerate BloNo’ can email decarcerateblono@gmail.com. We’ve also got our next meeting for local folks like us to build connections, learn more about the implementation of the PFA, and determine our next steps for supporting our community until cash bail ends in 2023. Join us on Thursday, February 18, 6:30 – 7:30 pm. Register here.
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For more on police reform see here. For more on the Pretrial Fairness Act, see here.
History was made on Saturday, June 6th, 2020 when the first ever Black Lives Matter protest occurred in Pekin, IL at the Tazewell County Courthouse.
Pekin is probably the most well-known of the former sundown towns in Central Illinois. Sundown towns were municipalities which by law or by practice banned African-Americans from being within the city past dark, effectively preventing them from living within city limits. Going back to my great-grandparents, who were born in the early 20th century, the one thing people associate with Pekin is racism.
But, a group of Pekinites want this to change. In the wake of the death of George Floyd, we’re seeing a seismic shift in the American consciousness surrounding the struggle for Black Liberation. Around 150 people gathered outside the Tazewell County Courthouse, to protest for Black Liberation. Brittany Wagner, a Pekin woman of colonial complexion, and Ezra Collum, a black man, organized the event. They read off the stories of Black men & women who have been killed by the police. George Floyd, Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, and so many more.
Brittany Wagner
Wagner led the crowd in a boisterous display of solidarity. Protesters marched around the Courthouse on blocked off streets, and laid on the ground for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the same amount of time Derek Chauven kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck. Wagner, a deaf woman native to Tazewell County, spoke with such fire & fury because despite not being able to hear, the one thing she could hear was the injustice against black lives & the injustice perpetrated by the police. As so many other people of no color dug there heads in the sands of All Lives Matter, Wagner heard loud and clear the clamoring of systemic inequalities; it was a sound that clearly shook her to the core. At certain points in her speech, she paused to wipe away tears.
“Where were the All Lives Matter crowd when a Chinese-American got stabbed because of COVID?” Wagner asked the crowd. “That wasn’t All Lives Matter. All lives don’t matter when it’s inconvenient to them. These are not an inconvenience. These are people. Everyone deserves a chance!”
Ezra Collum
Ezra Collum, spent his portion speaking about Black Trans Lives, both those people murdered by police & transphobic bigots. “People don’t know their names; they don’t see them on Facebook. I just want to make it known about Black Trans Lives: we matter too.” Ezra said the names of several black trans people murdered in the past two years. Tony McDade, Celine Walker, Anatash’a English, Cathalina James, Nina Bop, Dana Martin, Chynal Lindsey, Bee Love Slater, Bailey Reeves. “The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs reports a multi-year trend showing that Trans Women of Color have greater risk of death by hate crime than any other group in 2019. There was at least 22 trans- or nonconforming people murdered and it is the 5th consecutive year in a row where at least 20 trans people were murdered.” he said.
Whether it would even be possible to hold a Black Liberation rally in Pekin was always an open question. I talked to many Pekinites present about the kind of backlash they would receive from friends & family in Pekin if they were actively anti-racist. “ YES THEY ARE AFRAID!” said Wagner. “Yes, there are some die hard racist people who are attacking me in my inbox, and posting about who I am, but people in Pekin can be afraid of the backlash and that shouldn’t even exists. The consequences are racists continually harassing those who are trying to do right.”
One Pekinite, Heather York, said she absolutely believes Pekinites are afraid to speak out against racism when they see it. “Just the personal consequences they see from people they know. People they know will put out a witch hunt on them, just for saying Black Lives Matter. Racists will encourage people to ostracize them.”
Wagner was threatened by multiple people online for organizing the protest, and discovered her window had been tampered with, though they cannot say for sure whether the two are related.
“There is an unbelievable amount of racism I’ve experienced in Pekin, unfortunately,” said Wagner, “causal talking casual racism. At a very young age I was exposed, I remember thinking why isn’t this fair but ya know as a kid in a predominantly white neighborhood, I didn’t understand that it was racism against POC until I was older.”
Before the event even occurred there were fears of violence against protesters. One Pekinite, a so-called “concerned citizen”, Matt Armentrout, posted on Facebook, and essentially made a call to arms from the community to be prepared for what he assumed would inevitably turn to looting.
Matt Armentrout
Wagner reached out to Armentrout because she knew many people were concerned with going to a protest surrounded by people with weapons. Wagner told me, “So, the story behind that was he posted a status mentioning guns and protecting his town. It put a lot of fear into people obviously. I got to talk to him and tell him everything I stand for and against in a message, I talked to his childhood friends and they talked to him and he understood where I was coming from. If everyone really is aware of what’s happening in this fight for injustice, they’ll realize exactly what were about and then like Matt, be standing on the frontlines instead of against and protecting us.”
And to Armentrout’s credit, he and his “concerned citizens” did show up unarmed, largely watched from afar, and they spent most of their time discouraging any racist counter-protesters from instigating the BLM protest. However, it was certainly a bizarre experience seeing “concerned citizens” (some with Nazi tattoos) recording every moment and capturing every face.
Already, this group of anti-racist Pekinites is starting to gain traction. Their first action was in many ways just to create a space where anti-racist Pekinites could see each other and form bonds of solidarity. So, that they know they aren’t the only ones disgusted when people drop the N-word or fly a Confederate flag or make a racist joke about people.
There were even actual fascists who attempted to incite event. A truck repeatedly drove by the intersection of the protest with a Trump flag, flipping of protesters. At one point, the vehicle was even stopped by police and told they should leave the protesters alone. However, the vehicle obstinately refused, returning evermore, this time with the traitorous flag of the Confederacy adorned across from the Trump 2020 flag. One brave American patriot protesting for Black Liberation, was so incensed by the foul stench emanating from the Confederate trash, that he took the flag from the truck and properly disposed of it. At this point, the fascists were outraged, with one trying to run BLM protesters over with his mo-ped. “No Lives Matter! No Lives Matter!” He screamed at the peaceful protesters chanting “Black Lives Matter”. The individuals in the traitorous Confederate vehicle were again stopped by police and each one was cited for disorderly conduct. They could face a maximum fine of $750 each.
Confederate traitors lose their participation flag.
Heather York, who is organizing another BLM protest in Pekin Saturday, June 13th, at the Tazewell County Courthouse, says their group has a list of demands they plan on presenting to the Pekin Police Department.
Demands:
1. Defund the Police, a reallocation of funds towards other services. Reduction of militarized police. More specific training on deescalation and subduing someone without lethal force, sensitivity training on basically everyone, training on active anti-racism.
2. Accountability for officers that abuse their power. Let us sue individuals officers for misbehavior.
3. Disband the Police Union entirely. It is superfluous. They are already heavily protected. If they’re brutalizing people, they don’t deserve protection; and if the police aren’t brutalizing people, then they don’t need union protection.
4. Alternative emergency uses – Instead of calling 911 for the police, you’d call for a social worker, therapist, etc.
This group of young Pekinites will continue to organize around anti-racist issues as long as it takes, and encourage more anti-racist Tazewell County residents to take a more active role in addressing systemic racial issues.
When asked if she worries about racist attacks from the community, Wagley said, “If we show people, We are about peace. We are about change. We are about love. People will understand.”
The murder of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers has ignited a fresh, new wave of protests in support of Black Liberation across the country. In Central Illinois, like elsewhere, those organizing the events are not from older generations like Boomers and Xers, not even from Millenials, but from the Zoomer generation just now coming of age. The combination of no school during the last quarter of the school year, nearly 2 ½ months under quarantine restrictions, the economic depression during COVID-19, and the fact the police can’t stop messing with Black Lives EVEN during a global pandemic has caused an eruption of support for the liberation of Black Lives beyond what many of us expected to see.
Even before May 30th, 2020 Zoomers were already standing on the sidewalk along Veterans Parkway with signs supporting Black Lives. But, Saturday May 30th was a catalyst here in Bloomington-Normal. 24-year old Micah Denniston, posted on Facebook she was organizing a protest at the McLean County Jail in downtown Bloomington. Denniston, a woman of the Caucasian persuasion, was affected by Floyd’s death because “I am the mother of three mixed children. They are mixed with black,” she said. “I shouldn’t have to fear for my son’s life when he grows up. God forbid, he gets pulled over and the next thing you know he’s dead on the ground by a cop because they fear him for the color of his skin or they fear my boyfriend for the color of his skin or my brother next to me for the color of his skin. It’s not right.”
Micah Denniston, 24
She only thought about 15 people would show up. Instead, over a 150 people gathered near the jail next to the US Cellular Coliseum. Micah and her friends wanted to March around the jail. More experienced activists helped facilitate the goals of these Zoomers: blocking off traffic, documenting the scene, and negotiating with law enforcement.
Because the McLean County Jail is in the heart of downtown Bloomington, inmates can be seen from the streets. For many protesters there, it was their first time experiencing their voice reaching out in protest and making a connection of solidarity with another, especially individuals being isolated from society by the state. Even from across the street on a busy day, one can clearly hear inmates banging on their windows. The effect is poignant. Realizing that you can see from the street what the state hides behind architecture and that you can transgress the state’s forced isolation of inmates is a powerful feeling. At the same time, inmates who have been kept on 23-hour a day lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, received some much needed social interaction. These bridges being built through the walls of state authority are an important link activists for Black Liberation must continue to cultivate.
Another novelty found was Bloomington Police Officers, unprompted, offering to block of traffic so that protesters could take over the streets safely. For nearly thirty minutes, Black Liberation activists occupied East Street just outside the McLean County Law & Justice Center. Afterwards, the march of nearly 150 people took over the streets of downtown Bloomington in a spontaneous manner, picking and choosing its direction almost at random for nearly 3 miles as if hunting out the vestiges of white supremacy in the city. Even without a clear direction, police continued to block off traffic for the protesters. There is a clear distinction in the way police in BloNo have been reacting to BLM protests after the death of Floyd. Unlike many cities where the police are actively attacking peaceful protesters, police in McLean county are getting on one knee, saying “Black Lives Matter”, and hugging protesters in an alleged solidarity.
At the jail were many tense moments between protesters and sheriff’s deputies. There is a primal rage in the early protests after George Floyd. An absolute disgust at the injustice inherent in our policing and carceral institutions. There were about 3-4 sheriff’s deputies being confronted by protesters. The anger in the people wouldn’t allow for a satisfactory answer to congeal from the deputies, aside from ripping off their badge and joining the revolution. But, this anger is nevertheless righteous. So many people are sick of the abuse of state power by the police, the sense of helplessness when under the gaze of an officer. The three officers were between Scylla & Charybdis in front of the massive group. No answer was sufficient to calm them down, and any escalation would have put everyone in danger. Yet, those officers needed to feel that powerlessness for the protest to be effective. The entire confrontation only lasted about ten minutes and was finally diffused by a Sargent yelling “Black Lives Matter” with open arms & a smile. It was enough to distract the powder keg and relieve the mounting pressure.
[FULL DISCLOSURE: The author participated in this protest.]
On May Day, May 1st, Black Lives Matter Bloomington-Normal organized a car caravan action around the McLean County Jail calling for decarceration and to waive the costs of video visits/phone calls during COVID19 for inmates. BLM BloNo also released a contract between McLean County and the telecommunications system, IC Solutions, that shows they are profiting off of these video visits/phone calls, which of course happen more often now that in-person visits are shut down due to COVID19.
ACTION ITEM: Join BLM BloNo and Tell McLean Co: Stop Profiting From Jail Visits During Covid-19!
Check out: Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/BLMBlono/ E-mail — blacklivesmatterblono@gmail.com Contact your County Board representative and tell them they shouldn’t be making money just so people can stay in touch with their loved ones during the Coronavirus.
