Frantz Dumel Speaks Out: "George's Mother Was Summoned; To All Mothers In The Nation. Now If You’re A Mother That Heard That Loud And Clear, Say Hell Yeah!"

Frantz Dumel speaking out at a Black Lives Matter protest in Beacon on June 6, 2020.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

This speaker is sharing during the 3rd protest march on Beacon that happened on June 6, 2020. The march started at Pohill Park, wound all the way down Wolcott, taking a right toward the river, over the bridge above the train track, and ending at the land stage at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park.

To bring this story out of the video and into words for more to access, A Little Beacon Blog has transcribed this story as best we can, as close to the spoken word as possible. To give you context, we indicate where different actions took place, like applause or movement. We highly encourage you to watch this spoken in the video, so that you can feel the moment and the words and remember it forever as it helps you make future decisions. You can listen and watch this story in our Instagram here.

BEGIN
Frantz Dumel
Uncle of one of the organizers, Stefon Seward.

Clap it up for the people who went before me. Clap it up for the gentlemen who just left the stage. Clap it up for the sister who talked before me, very powerful sister. Now my name is Franz Dumel (crowd source name spelling needed), I’m from neighboring Rockland County and I am so proud of my neighbors in Middletown, my neighbors in Beacon, my neighbors in Duchess County as a whole - you guys have made me proud. Clap it up for yourselves, please.

Now cameramen, cameramen, help me out here, because you guys prove them wrong. They said, “Frantz don’t waste your time going further north. The further north you go, the less they care about justice for all.”

Now if they were completely wrong, and if that isn’t true, say HELL NO (Crowd yells “Hell no!”).

If that wasn’t true say, Hell No! (Hell no!).)

“As George was facing death, and death was approaching he called out for his mother. I read a post over the week that said, his mother was summoned, to all mothers in the nation. Now if you’re a mother that heard that loud and clear, say hell yeah! (Hell yea!). Repeat after me. I (I) heard you! (Heard you) Justice (Justice) is coming! (Is coming!).”

— Frantz Dumel

Alright, so we’re gonna prove them wrong. Cameramen here, help me out. Everybody in here, we gonna, we gonna expose the true energy of Beacon to the world. Every sign out here up in the air for me, please. Stefon, one of the organizers. Can we crack it up for the organizers, you guys? Stefon, lead us in the chant so the world can see what Beacon is about.

(Crowd chants: “No Justice! No Peace! No Racist Police! Say His Name: George Floyd!”)

Beautiful, thank you guys. Now Beacon shouldn’t be no different from any other town or city in the world that won’t stand for a man being handcuffed, basically hog tied, suffocated, tortured. So his body was lifeless. If Beacon never stands for that say HELL NO (Hell no!).

As George was facing death, and death was approaching he called out for his mother. I read a post over the week that said, his mother was summoned, to all mothers in the nation. Now if you’re a mother that heard that loud and clear, say Hell Yeah! (Hell Yeah!).

Repeat after me.

I (I)

Heard you! (Heard you)

Justice (Justice)

Is coming! (Is coming!).

“Now George Floyd’s mom was a single mother, which means she probably played the role of both father and mother and the community probably played the rest of the role as far as guidance is concerned. So together, as a community, mothers, fathers, repeat after me! I (I) Heard you! (Heard you!) Justice (justice) Is coming (is coming).”

— Frantz Drumel

Now George Floyd’s mom was a single mother, which means she probably played the role of both father and mother and the community probably played the rest of the role as far as guidance is concerned. So together, as a community, mothers, fathers, repeat after me! I (I) Heard you! (Heard you!) Justice (Justice) Is coming (is Coming).

Now, if you watch the news, social media, they will make you think this is white vs, black. They’ll make you think this is police vs. the people. If that’s not the case, say Hell No! (Hell No!)

Now, if that notion is starting to seep into your conscious, don’t let it, my people. Do not let hate metastasize like cancer and spread before it’s too late. If you won’t let that happen, say Hell No! (Hell no!) This is not about the people vs. police, or white vs. black. This is good vs. evil, and I for one think the good people outnumber evil by far. Now, he called out and it seems like the whole world heard his call.

“Do not let hate metastasize like cancer and spread before it’s too late. If you won’t let that happen, say Hell No! (Hell no!) This is not about the people vs. police, or white vs. black. This is good vs. evil, and I for one think the good people outnumber evil by far. Now, he called out and it seems like the whole world heard his call.”

— Frantz Drumel

Now this is a story that keeps playing over and over again. But for some reason, there’s something different this time. Do you guys feel it? (Yes)

There’s something different about this time. Almost as if George Floyd’s life was a sacrifice for real change. George Floyd’s life was a sacrifice to galvanize the people good, white, and Black combined. To fight for justice. If that’s what you’re here for say Hell Yeah! (Hell Yeah!)

My people change is coming. And this is not about the people vs. police, because as much as they want you to believe that’s what it’s about, it’s not. And if nobody has said it lately, to our good officers, we love you. If nobody has said it recently to our good officers, we love you. Because they protect and serve us every day. But in the same token, we call on you to push evilness out of your precinct. To push evilness out of your stations. To push wickedness out of your circles. we call on you to expose the intentions of the wicked and push them to the people to face judgement.

“if nobody has said it lately, to our good officers, we love you. If nobody has said it recently to our good officers, we love you. Because they protect and serve us every day. But in the same token, we call on you to push evilness out of your precinct.”

— Frantz Drumel

I call on the community at large to also shape this, after this incident here, in moving forward, to shape America into a place where all inhabitants encourage each other to do better, and not seek to judge. Seek to understand, ‘cuz only then will you have the vision to see what’s goin’ on and what’s broken and how we can fix it. Only then will you have the vision to stand side by side, no matter the color, and stand up for justice.

No justice! (No Peace!).

Here’s a new one. More Justice, More Peace! More Justice (More Peace!). More Justice (More Peace!)

My people of Beacon, you guys have proved me wrong.

I also thought that, “I don’t know what I’m walking into but I’m going anyway.” And I’ve walked into the energy of love. I had an epiphany the other day where I came to realize the real power of God is in numbers. The Bible says where more than one are praying, the presence of God is there. I think the presence of God is definitely here. Clap it up for yourselves Beacon.

Now I’m also calling on my young protestors to protest peacefully. Because one of the things that’s being used, is that Martin Luther King said “Riots are the voice of the unheard.” Which is true, so we understand. We understand the anger. But after the anger subsides, it has to be organized. And Dr. Martin Luther King also said, let me read it for you guys, that, “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only Love can do that.” Power to the people! Power to love and harmony! And one more time, let’s talk to George directly, repeat after me:

I (I)

Heard You (Heard You!).

Justice (Justice)

Is Coming (Is Coming!)

Justice (Justice)

Is coming (Is Coming!)

Justice (Justice)

Is Here (is Here!)

Thank you, my people.

Reuben Simmons Speaks Out On Racial Identification In Elementary School; Mixed Race; Seeing Racial Inequality From Within Beacon

This speaker is sharing during the 3rd protest march on Beacon that happened on June 6, 2020. The march started at Pohill Park, wound all the way down Wolcott, taking a right toward the river, over the bridge above the train track, and ending at the land stage at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park.

To bring this story out of the video and into words for more to access, A Little Beacon Blog has transcribed this story as best we can, as close to the spoken word as possible. To give you context, we indicate where different actions took place, like applause or movement. We highly encourage you to watch this spoken in the video, so that you can feel the moment and the words and remember it forever as it helps you make future decisions. You can listen and watch this story in our Instagram here.

BEGIN

Good afternoon, everybody.

Malcolm X said: “My accomplishments will outweigh all my personal and human weaknesses.” Please keep that in mind as I speak to you.

I feel obligated to share my story. My name is Reuben Simmons, known by most people in this community as Yogi. Coach Yogi. I coach Beacon Pop Warner. I coach Beacon Hoops. I see some of my players out here. I went to South Avenue, Rombout, and graduated from the OLD High School. I got my Associates degree from Dutchess Community College in Criminal Justice. I got my Bachelors Degree in Sociology from the Catholic University of America located in Washington DC.

I wanna thank the organizers for the protest on Monday and this protest today. Two peaceful protests that I’m proud to have in my city. I didn’t see pictures of looting or any broken windows or anything that caused any destruction.

I also wanna give a thanks to all the police officers. I see the City of Beacon, I see possibly state troopers, and I see also the Town of Fishkill. They helped block the roads for us to have that peaceful march and I know that we’re having this battle with the officers. It’s not all officers so I would like to thank them also.

I wanna share a story with you. Which means I’m gonna have to get real with you. Everything I announced, that all sounds good. I got kicked out of Beacon Hoops. I had a bad attitude. I went to Albany for a semester. Just like my brother Ali talked about. Albany wasn’t a place for people who came from Beacon. Beacon was a great place.

Beacon was so unique and I always say that. Albany taught me something that I was taught at South Avenue that I just didn’t know. I am mixed race. My mom is Italian-Irish and my dad is Black. South Avenue, they wanted to send me to a school called Beta, and I wanted to go. I fought every day. They said that’s what you can do at Beta. It was Mr. Vorbach (crowd sourced spell check needed), my principal. A white man. An older white man, who said: “He’s not goin’. And I was upset. I thank him.

In 1st grade, we had the school staff come in each classroom and count every kid by their race. Miss Kim Faison, she saunters in my classroom. Everybody feared Kim Faison…Great lady. She asked all the white kids to stand up. I go to stand up. But I’m halfway standing up. She looks at me and says “Not you.” She asked all the black kids to stand up, then she looks at me and said, “Now you.”

I didn’t pay attention to these two lessons in elementary school but it caught up to me when I went to Albany. I was walking with one of my best friends, a white guy. He was drinking a beer. I wasn’t into beer then, not drinking. Cops pull over. Tell us to stop. I ain’t doin’ nothin’. I keep walking. He’s talking to me and my friend. My friend tells the officer, “Oh officer, I apologize.” He said, “I’m not taking to you.” Grabs me by the back, puts a baton to me.

Now I knew I had something illegal in my pocket, so I knew I shoulda ran, but I wasn’t doing anything. Whatever, I’ll take the consequences. I get to the station. They asked me “What’s your name?” Reuben Simmons. “Where you from?” I’m from Beacon. “What’s your race?” I studied criminal justice. I knew white people get lesser charges. And I am white. I’m just as white as I am black. I’m white. That officer tells me, HE tells ME, “You’re either Black or Hispanic.” I said, ‘What does that mean?’ He said, “Don’t tell me you’re white.”

I grew up in a single parent household. My mother. How you gonna tell me I ain’t white, besides the fact that I’m labeled that way in society? In a community that I wasn’t even accepted in the black community. I wasn’t accepted in a white community. By the time I got to high school, I had to find my own lane. And it just so happens DMX dropped that same year, so, self explanatory. So I’m a let anyone who’s mixed race in here, in the eyes of the law, in the eyes of society, you ain’t white. You black. And that is wrong. That’s why I’m proud to be here today and see this mixture of races here today. Because I know different races go through it, and different religions go through it.

I started an organization called I AM BEACON. Today it’s a 501-c3 non-profit organization established in the state of New York. One of my biggest supporters is the Key Food grocery store. And they get the same thing because they’re Muslim. It hurts my heart to speak to you at this time because of the circumstances that brought us all together. People who did not have to die. But this will be an opportunity that I think that we should not fold or let stop. That’s why I keep thanking the organizers of this protest because they’re young. I was young. Relatively still am.

I was labeled a leader in the community and in a union. I was blackballed Colin Kaepernick’d out of my union because I’m young and I got my own mind and my own vision. Because older people wanna tell you what to do, when to do it and how to do it and that’s not gonna happen, not in the generation of the new millennium. So the only thing I wanna offer to the young is to share my experience, to share my story, and just together put everything in a collaborative effort.

“My parents, they were raised in the racial riots in this city. The 50s, 60s, and the race riots in 1970. If you were born and raised up in the mountains, you didn’t mess with the Blacks down in the city. As this city had started to grow, I started to see where the problem was. it wasn’t old Beacon and new Beacon. it was certain people in Beacon who were upset that they weren’t getting the way that they had for the last 10, 20, 30, 40 damn years. ”

— Reuben Simmons

I’m gonna wrap it up. I was born in Beacon before the hospital closed. I was raised in Beacon in the 80s and the 90s when nobody wanted to be IN Beacon. I worked for this city, so I see the racial inequality from within. I already told you I was a union leader. I served 18 months as a Superintendent in the Highway [Department]. Union management. And for the last 3 years, I’ve been taking on a personal battle that I’m not gonna give up on. Because it’s affecting me. I see it affecting other people. I wanted to stand up for other people but one thing you can’t do, you can’t fight for other people that don’t want to fight for themselves.

I’ve seen white workers bring guns into the workplace, knowing that we have racial tension and nothin’ get done. I seen white workers get upset about supervisor referring to the black workers as “the nigger” and they get transferred and put in another department to where they feel comfortable. I’ve been in meetings with the city, with 100% of the black workers there telling them their issues, and nothing getting done but more harassment, more retaliation, and more disciplines in their goddamn file.

I ain’t putting up with it no more. And as I look out in this crowd, if the support is there for what’s going on in this city, I’ll stand with you and I’ll stand with any organizers who’s willing to fight that battle.

Another thing I’m gonna take this opportunity to clear up: when I started I AM BEACON, there was all this hoopla on “Well I’m from Beacon because I’ve lived here.” “You’re not from Beacon, you’re from Brooklyn, you just moved here.” Understand my philosophy for I AM BEACON. The Why and the I is self accountability and self responsibility. I don’t care who you are, where you’re from, what you do, if you’re in this city, if you’re in this community, if you wanna volunteer, if you wanna get involved, I AM BEACON’s doors is open to you.

“There’s “Coffee With Cops,” there’s workshops. We wanna talk with cops. We wanna build a community relations. I’m glad that conversation is coming up because I was there 4 years ago. I AM BEACON had a separate committee called BEACON SPEAKS OUT when Trayvon Martin and the Ferguson rallies were going on. We did it. We sent the recommendations in to the police.

The #1: Community Policing. Get the out the goddamn car and start walking these streets. It barely happened. So no, I’m not interested in sitting down again. I’m a man of action. So if we’re gonna do it again, let’s just make sure our voices are really heard but that we hold them accountable. ”

— Reuben Simmons

Last 3 years, the fights that I’ve been having internally, it ain’t from people who just got to Beacon. Let me give you a little bit of history. I was born in the 80s and 90s. Hip hop culture. Sex money and drugs. My parents, they were raised in the racial riots in this city. The 50s, 60s, and the race riots in 1970. If you were born and raised up in the mountains, you didn’t mess with the Blacks down in the city.

As this city had started to grow, I started to see where the problem was. it wasn’t old Beacon and new Beacon. it was certain people in Beacon who were upset that they weren’t getting the way that they had for the last 10, 20, 30, 40 damn years. And I don’t see a different Beacon. I see a built up Beacon, but I don’t see a different Beacon. Maybe I changed with the times. There is no old Beacon, new Beacon. There’s only one Beacon. For the action steps. Mayor Lee Kyriacou is here today. Somewhere…there he is. Monday night, he’s gonna have a council workshop talking about police policies. Tune in. Give them recommendations.

If there’s one thing that is a must, it’s a must, especially if you think you’re gonna get down with I AM BEACON. It’s action. Don’t tell somebody else what they need to be doin’. Stand right there next to them and do it with them. Second, register to vote. There’s people here that are gonna help you with that. And I stress it because that night in Albany, I lost my right to vote. So I never thought I could vote. It wasn’t till I got involved with the union. It wasn’t until I educated myself. My first time voting wasn’t until 2009 because I came through a generation of ‘my vote don’t matter.’ Oh, now that I’ve got a criminal record, I can’t vote. So now that’s my scapegoat.

You can vote, as long as you ain’t on papers. I don’t care what your past is because I got the same past as some of you. So I’m the example. I can vote now, and I do. and don’t get me wrong, sometimes I put in a blank ballot but I’m showing up.

Three: I heard at the last protest and I’m sure I’m gonna hear it today. There’s “Coffee With Cops,” there’s workshops. We wanna talk with cops. We wanna build a community relations. I’m glad that conversation is coming up because I was there 4 years ago. I AM BEACON had a separate committee called BEACON SPEAKS OUT when Trayvon Martin and the Ferguson rallies were going on. We did it. We sent the recommendations in to the police.

“I’m a believer it starts on the local level. Once you have your foundation, you can build from there. Are you guys ready to build? (Crowd cheers) Are you guys ready to build? (Crowd cheers) I’ll stand for anybody who’s willing to put in the footwork. ”

— Reuben Simmons

The #1: Community Policing. Get the out the goddamn car and start walking these streets. It barely happened. So no, I’m not interested in sitting down again. I’m a man of action. So if we’re gonna do it again, let’s just make sure our voices are really heard but that we hold them accountable.

I’ve seen a lot. I’ve learned a lot. I went through the process. I’m willing to be a resource. As I look at the council, there are new faces that I’ve never seen before, that I’ve never talked to before. This will be that opportunity. ‘Cuz too many times people just pass judgement on what the hell they read on Facebook and that is bullshit. I know we come to a generation of social media and social gangsters and ‘say whatever you want and you don’t get touched.’ That wasn’t my era. That’s why people didn’t talk the way they talk in the 80s and 90s.

But I understand. We gotta grow from that. This is a different style, it’s a different fight. When I came into the union, my street mentality was like ‘yeah, I need the numbers. I slap you, you come out your face.’ You can’t do that in politics, are you crazy, kid? But the philosophy the same, ‘where’s your numbers at?’ Your right to vote - that’s your handgun. Goin’ to the polls is what’s pulling the trigger. But nobody wants to go to the polls because they wanna stay online for new iPhones and Jordans, c’mon man, ya gotta say with me on this.

(interruption)

I wanted to meet with the organizers in private. But I couldn’t let you guys leave without letting you know what’s going on. I’m a big believer we can make change. I’m a believer it starts on the local level. Once you have your foundation, you can build from there. Are you guys ready to build? (Crowd cheers) Are you guys ready to build? (Crowd cheers) I’ll stand for anybody who’s willing to put in the footwork. Thank you. Once again, my name is Reuben Simmons, they call me Yogi.

Speaker Speaking Out At Protest: "I Need Us To Tear Down These Walls Of Separation That Have Been Built In This Country For Almost 500 Years"

This speaker is sharing during the 3rd protest march on Beacon that happened on June 6, 2020. The march started at Pohill Park, wound all the way down Wolcott, taking a right toward the river, over the bridge above the train track, and ending at the land stage at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park.

To bring this story out of the video and into words for more to access, A Little Beacon Blog has transcribed this story as best we can, as close to the spoken word as possible. To give you context, we indicate where different actions took place, like applause or movement. We highly encourage you to watch this spoken in the video, so that you can feel the moment and the words and remember it forever as it helps you make future decisions. You can listen and watch this story in our Instagram here.

We do not know this person’s name. If this is you and you want to be identified, please let us know and we will add your name.

BEGIN

Hello Beacon! Hey Beacon!

First of all, I want to give honor to my ancestors, for walking with us today. Yes.

“My white brothers and sisters, and yes, I’m using the words “brothers and sisters.” The reason why is because I need us to tear down these walls of separation that have been built in this country for almost 500 years that causes you to look at me as “less than.” That causes me to look at you and be afraid. ”

Secondly, I want to thank you for all for coming out and standing for this cause. This is something that is near and dear to my heart. Not just because I’m a Black woman in America, not just because I’m a Black mother in America, but for four of my five children you see standing right here today.

And thank you to my sister who just spoke, thank you for sharing some - you said it so eloquently, so beautifully. But I want to say something else, too. My white brothers and sisters, and yes, I’m using the words “brothers and sisters.” The reason why is because I need us to tear down these walls of separation that have been built in this country for almost 500 years that causes you to look at me as “less than.” That causes me to look at you and be afraid.

Because believe it or not, as a black woman in this country, when I walk down the street, I see a group of white people, sorry, but I feel scared. You know why I’m scared? Because I know that SOME, not ALL, SOME white people don’t see me as the human being, as the beautiful person I am. It doesn’t matter how many degrees I have, it doesn’t matter how many businesses I’ve started, it doesn’t matter how many people I have helped, it doesn’t matter the character and the depth of my heart and my soul. Some people literally cannot get past this skin suit that I am wearing. And their head is filed with biases that have been passed down, taught and caught. Right? Because we have biases that are caught by people.

“Posting up black squares on Instagram and Facebook? Okay, that’s cute. That’s good, that’s cute. That’s cute. But have you addressed your family members that make racist jokes? You might have the uncomfortable laughter but do you address them? Do you tell them “Not on my watch?””

Your parents may not tell you, “Oh, she’s Black, she’s less than.” “He’s Black. Be scared of him.” But their actions show it, and we catch it. And Imma challenge you today, my brothers and my sisters, to let go of any of those biases that you may have caught. And don’t be afraid to admit it! It’s absolutely okay, because you grew up in this country, to hold up a mirror, and I mean that hypothetically speaking, to hold up a mirror, and to get uncomfortable, and to inconvenience yourself and say “You know what? I have privilege.”

And you know why it’s okay to say that? Because once you address and uncover and acknowledge what is really there? That’s the only time you can change it. And your having privilege doesn’t make you less than of a human being, right? Your privilege doesn’t make you less than. What is the issue, is when you have that privilege and you’re so comfortable in it, that you’re fine with superficial signs of support rather than taking the action.

Posting up black squares on Instagram and Facebook? Okay, that’s cute. That’s good, that’s cute. That’s cute. But have you addressed your family members that make racist jokes? You might have the uncomfortable laughter but do you address them? Do you tell them “Not on my watch?” Do you tell them it’s not funny? Do you educate them on the true history of this country?

And if you have not done that, this is the time to start, now. And it’s not just about you holding a sign “it stops with the cops.” Right? That’s only concerning police brutality. But it also stops in your homes. It stops in the schools. Because a racist is a racist no matter what uniform they’re wearing.

So I wanna leave you with this, because yes, Black lives matter. And I had some conversations this week. They don’t like to hear “Black Lives Matter.” They wanna say all lives matter. But if all lives matter, then it shouldn’t be a problem with you saying what?

(Crowd: BLACK LIVES MATTER!)

“I don’t wanna be scared when my children are 16, 17, 18. And I don’t have the joy that you might share in buying my children their first car because I’m scared they’re not gonna come home. Not from car accidents. I’m scared they’re not gonna come home cause someone won’t see them as a human being driving a vehicle.”

Exactly. So I just wanna challenge everyone here, again, if you don’t look like me, thank you for your love, thank you for your support. But I wanna let you know, how you can support us is by getting uncomfortable, inconveniencing yourself, taking the lid off the white washed Eurocentric history that’s taught in this country and get to the truth. Because the truth, indeed, will not only set you free. The truth, indeed, I’m sorry, it makes me angry, but with that anger comes action, with action, comes change. (applause)

I don’t wanna be scared when my children are 16, 17, 18. And I don’t have the joy that you might share in buying my children their first car because I’m scared they’re not gonna come home. Not from car accidents. I’m scared they’re not gonna come home cause someone won’t see them as a human being driving a vehicle. So that’s the change that I’m looking for. It starts in our schools. It starts in our homes. It starts with your neighbors. It starts with your family. So stand up, stand tall, get uncomfortable, get inconvenienced, but again, anger from the truth brings action, and action brings? (Crowd CHANGE!).

Action brings? (Crowd CHANGE!)

Action brings? (Crowd CHANGE!)

Don’t let it stop here, y’all.

Speaker Speaking Out During Black Lives Matter Protest: "I Want To Speak Towards The Feeling Of Not Looking Us In The Eye"

The speaker of Story #1. If this is you, and you want to identify yourself here, please let us know and we will add your name.

This speaker is sharing during the 3rd protest march on Beacon that happened on June 6, 2020. The march started at Pohill Park, wound all the way down Wolcott, taking a right toward the river, over the bridge above the train track, and ending at the land stage at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park.

To bring this story out of the video and into words for more to access, A Little Beacon Blog has transcribed this story as best we can, as close to the spoken word as possible. To give you context, we indicate where different actions took place, like applause or movement. We highly encourage you to watch this spoken in the video, so that you can feel the moment and the words and remember it forever as it helps you make future decisions. You can listen and watch this story in our Instagram here.

We do not know this person’s name. If this is you and you want to be identified, please let us know and we will add your name.

BEGIN
Story #1

(story had started…this is when our video footage started…we do not have the beginning of the story)

If I go down, we both go down.

(Applause)

And I just want that to be heard here in my home town. Because I know that we are a beautiful and diverse community here. And I know when I walk down these streets I could look people in the eye and that is a privilege I have here, in this town, in Beacon. And it’s not a privilege that many other towns, not even in the Hudson Valley, get to share. And I know this only because I’ve lived in other places in the Hudson valley. I’ve lived in Poughkeepsie. I’ve lived in Newburgh. I now live in Ulster County, and it’s not the same, y’all. It is not.

And I just also…I want to speak towards the traumatization that we feel right now in this moment, the universal feelings that we’re all struggling with. And those feelings are really important to try to understand why. Even as a colored person, or Black person, or an indigenous person, or a white person. Why do I feel…”answer the blank.” Why do I feel sad? Why do I feel ashamed? Why do I feel guilt? Why do I feel anger? And we need to find a better way to challenge those feelings to talk to one another. Because I also realize that even as a brown person, I’m fucking angry. But that does not give me the right to scream at somebody else who’s trying to be a part of this movement who might not share my skin.

I also lastly want to speak to white people. I’m in an interracial relationship. I know how tough it is. I know it’s tough when you don’t know what to do. I’ve heard it. I know it’s tough when you didn’t put those thoughts in (her/your) head. I know it’s tough walking into someplace unfamiliar and you have no idea what you’re doing. But you go towards it because you know it’s probably the right thing, because it’s what your friends told you to do and you just want to show up.

“You do not look at the faces of our beautiful black men and women. You do not recognize them as a whole society. So when you’re walking down the street, instead of thinking, “let me avoid this person’s face,” why not humanize them? Look them in the eye. You’ll realize that sometimes you might get a smile. Sometimes you might get a “hey, hello.” ”

But I want to speak towards the feeling of not looking us in the eye, because even in the Hudson Valley, New York City, wherever you go - I’ve experienced this a lot in Poughkeepsie and Newburgh. You do NOT look at the faces of our beautiful black men and women. You do not recognize them as a whole society. So when you’re walking down the street, instead of thinking, “let me avoid this person’s face,” why not humanize them? Look them in the eye. You’ll realize that sometimes you might get a smile. Sometimes you might get a “hey, hello.”

Black people are not criminals. So stop avoiding their faces, their emotions, their eyes when they walk past you. They’re not there to jump you, to be a criminal towards you, to harass you. None of that. I’m not taking that no more.