Montrealers will once again take to the streets to demand justice. Another protest against police brutality and racism is planned for downtown Montreal. The event is hosted by six local organizations: Nous sommes la ligue des noirs nouvelle génération, Black Rose Alliance, Fondation Busta John, EBF Élegance Beauté Fierté, Affirmation de la Femme Afro/ Afimasyon Fanm Afro, and EvoluJeunes 19-30 ans. The demonstration will take place on Sunday, June 7, between Sunday 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Place Emilie-Gamelin. It follows a demonstration on May 31 that organizers say drew 15,000 people. It was a solemn few hours in Montreal on Sunday. Standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and for all victims of police violence, protestors gathered in front of SPVM police headquarters. The peaceful protest reportedly ended when police used tear gas to disperse crowds in response to what the SPVM called "illegal behaviours" and "infractions" on Twitter. There were reports of property damage and looting. The SPVM said Monday that it has made 11 arrests and was investigating further incidents of mischief. The Black Coalition of Quebec says that "police brutality hurts and kills every year around the world. Montreal is not an exception." "The Black Coalition of Quebec has had to recently take the city of Montreal to Court because of discriminations perpetrated by police officers. We all wish for the family of George Floyd to be able to find peace and justice in these hard times." For those that go protest, organizers suggest social distancing as much as possible, wearing a mask, and bringing hand sanitizer. Organizers for Sunday's protest said that "as we denounce recent police killings in the USA, we also denounce police killings of Black Lives here in Montreal, from Anthony Griffin in NDG in 1987 to BonyJean-Pierre in Montréal-Nord (2016), Pierre Coriolan in Centre-Sud (2017) and Nicholas Gibbs in NDG (2018)." View this post on Instagram PLEASE READ: Yesterday May 31st was Montreal’s march against police brutality. Protesters always have the right to express their anger in whichever way they see fit. Based on our previous posts, you can see that we don’t discourage ANY way of expressing anger over a system that kills us. However, for this protest, protesters chose to NOT riot and loot. They chose to march and shout and kneel. However, it quickly escalated to scene of looting, riots, and havoc. The main instigators were non-black people. There is countless footage of non-black people looting and rioting, but since we are anti-police, we will not share these videos here. They are available all though social media (specifically twitter) if you choose to view them. Being anti-police means we will not put any individual in a situation where they could potentially be arrested. • • • • We need to address the looting caused by non-black people and how this harms us. As white/non-black people, attending black protests does not exempt you from your privilege. This is a privilege you must use by being a shield between the police and your non-black counterparts that are at risk of DYING at their hands. You are there to extend your hand to show support. By participating in looting and rioting, especially in a protest where black people are NOT participating in these actions, you are being selfish by ENDANGERING THEIR LIVES. Black people don’t have the privilege to escape police brutality. Therefore, they will be the first victims. They will pay for YOUR behaviour. The media will NOT tarnish your name, but the name of black people. This is why non-black people looting during BLACK protests when black people are NOT, is harmful. • • • The SPVM is racist. The SPVM is racist. The SPVM has tear-gassed protesters who were clapping for them. The SPVM has hurt protesters who came to express their anguish. The police is DANGEROUS. • • • Black people, you are allowed to feel rage. Understand that we are all in this together. Do not feel belittled by how the media represents you. It is damned if you do, damned if you don’t. We got y’all. 🤎✊🏾 A post shared by Woke or Whateva Podcast (@wokeorwhateva) on Jun 1, 2020 at 7:51am PDT An independent report from last year showed evidence that the SPVM is guilty of "systemic racial bias," where visible minorities are two to five times likely to get stopped. The report found that stops by police increased by 143% from 2014 to 2017 all while actual crime rates from the same time remained relatively stable. Indigenous women are one of the most targeted groups. They were stopped 11 times more often than white women. Le 7 juin je le fais pour nos hommes et nos jeunes et toi pour qui que tu vas te mettre debout ?Posted by Nous sommes la ligue des noirs nouvelle génération on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Arab people, black people, and Indigenous people are between two and five times more likely to be stopped by the police in Montreal. The report stated that "at the SPVM in 2018, 8.2% of the workforce consisted of members belonging to a visible minority (7.7%) or an Aboriginal community (0.5%)," while "these two categories account for 32.8% of Montreal's population." (1/3) Je joins ma voix à celles qui dénoncent l’arrrestation de Georges Floyd qui a mené à son décès. Je souhaite que justice lui soit rendue. Dénonçons fermement et sans équivoque les violences, le racisme et les discriminations systémiques. #BlackLivesMatter.— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) May 31, 2020 François Legault claimed on Monday that "there's no systemic discrimination" in Quebec. The protest will take place on Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Place Emilie-Gamelin.
