Hundreds join Bellingham Friday protest in solidarity with Black Lives Matter
Hundreds joined a protest against racial injustice and inequality experienced by people of color Friday afternoon, June 12, on the sidewalks near the Bellingham Costco.
By 5:30 p.m. much of the crowd had left. People were stretched halfway down the sidewalk between Bakerview and Northwest and the protesters were concentrating together closer to Costco and Fred Meyer.
As the protest continued into its fourth hour, someone set up a speaker in the median between Bakerview and Northwest and “Freedom” by Beyoncé played. A few people in the crowd of mostly people in their 20s and 30s danced while holding their signs.
Organizers spoke to the crowd as the event ended about 6:15 p.m.
Kristina Michele, one of the organizers of the event, told the crowd they were saving her life. “This is not a moment, this is the movement,” she said.
4:30 p.m. Support from drivers
A light rain began falling again but a crowd of about 600 remained as drivers honked in apparent support.
The crowd thinned, but people were still there and spread down to Northwest Avenue.
Almost everyone wore a mask, and nearly all carried signs showing their support for the movement.
One person who drove by honking in support held a sign that read “Amplify POC voices” out their sunroof as they passed the Black Lives Matter protest in Bellingham.
4 p.m. Monday protest
People were asked to spread out and down toward Northwest Avenue as there are at least 600-plus protesters.
Ninety minutes into the protest, people continued to join in.
A flyer circulating in the crowd announced a Monday, June 15, March to Defund Police with a rally at noon at Railroad Avenue and Holly Street followed by a march past the Bellingham Police Department to city hall at 12:30 p.m. “Building a movement in solidarity with people around the world,” the flyer said.
3:30 p.m.: A few detractors
Protesters stretched past Northwest Avenue on Bakerview Road towards Heritage Bank and Biolife. People continued to social distance from others.
A woman with a megaphone chanted “Hands up” from one side of Bakerview and protesters on the other side of the road replied “Don’t shoot.”
Motorists continued to honk their support, including one man who held his horn down while stopped at the light. He also joined the chanting.
The protest drew a few detractors. A woman in a clear rain poncho carrying groceries walked by during a call-out in the crowd. She told them to stop yelling because they’ll cause an accident.
Earlier, a car drove the length of Bakerview honking, its passenger raising a fist outside the window, and a maroon truck drove by flying both a Trump and an American flag.
3 p.m.: Crowd growing
The day’s steady rain eased and the protesters lined both sides of West Bakerview from Northwest Avenue to Arctic Avenue.
The protesters were masked and socially distanced as they lined the sidewalk, waving homemade signs at motorists.
Drivers honked in apparent support of the demonstrators.
Several people of color had megaphones throughout the line. One chant was for #BreonnaTaylor, then “No Justice, no peace, no racist ass police” and then “I do this for my children and my children’s children.”
2 p.m.: Protest in solidarity
Organizers asked protesters to line the sidewalks from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the intersection of West Bakerview Road and Arctic Avenue.
The protest was in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County chapter, which put a call out on June 9 for a statewide day of action on June 12 that included a general strike and silent march in support of all black lives in Washington state, Michele, who is black, said in an interview with The Bellingham Herald.
She said they are “protesting political injustice, systematic racism and silence from our elected officials.”
“We’ll take to the streets as many times as possible as large as we can get it to make sure they know we have things we want to say — not just the City Council but the government. And we’re going to keep chanting, shouting, marching and raising signs, because you work for us,” Michele said.
Michele was one of the speakers at the Peaceful Solidarity Rally June 6 that brought more than 5,000 people to Maritime Heritage Park.
Bellingham Herald journalists Robert Mittendorf, Denver Pratt and Warren Sterling contributed to this story.
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 2:37 PM.
