September 23rd, 1963. There are thousands of people in the rally. Around 10,000 people were gathered in order to protest in front of the Sherwin School- which was located in the heart of Roxbury. They were trying to rally against de facto segregation. Fast forward 53 years. History.. there it is. Doing what it does best: repeating itself. Estimated 1,000 students marched out of class and headed to the City Hall. March, 7, 2016 was the day that students and faculty decided to begin walking around Boston in order to protest budget cuts and out of their love for their education, their love for art education and for their future. Fast forward again, not too much this time, just a few months. December 5, 2016. Groups of public schools and colleges decided to protest the presidential election and the person who won the election: Donald J. Trump. There were signs and people protesting against Donald Trump’s ideals and the people stated that the election had become very much personal.
One thing that all the groups have in common is the idea and freedom to protest; they are worried for their future, and they are all activists who vocalized their feelings and brought their experiences to the protests. In a little, I will talk about just how loud their voices were. We will decide who was heard the most and why, and what influences the volume of a person's voice.
The point of the rally in front of the Sherwin School was to bring to the light the issue that was de facto segregation. The reason that it needed to be brought into light was because people simply negated the fact that it existed. The Sherwin School had an enrollment of 316 students of color and 1 white male (Oyama 1963) . Archie Epps led the march. The reason that Epps decided to lead the protest in front of the Sherwin School because it was the most prominent example of de facto segregation.
The point of the rally in front of the State House in Boston, was to bring to light the issue that was brought about by budget cuts and how exactly it was affecting the youth and their education. The protest was announced throughout social media and by a few faculty but this march was led by the students, for the students. The students met at the Boston Commons and marched right to the State House to conduct a peaceful protest that consisted of signs and conversations about their future and how the budget cuts would affect them not only heavily but directly.
The point of the rally around City Hall was to bring to light the issue that was brought about by the presidential election and how exactly it was affecting the students in Boston, especially minorities, and people in LGBTQ communities. It was a louder, and more aggressive protest, because it affected more than just people of color. It was personal to many immigrants, people of different sexualities, and more of the middle and lower classes. There were shouts, and tears. This was beyond personal. This was, in a sense, aggressive. More aggressive than the previous rallies.
Well how else are we to protest? How loud, and how aggressive do we have to get in order to be heard, and for change to finally occur?
The goals of each rally were as follows:
The Sherwin School protest against de facto segregation: The goals were to get rid of the segregation that was clear in Boston Public Schools, as well as the economic inequality among people of color in Boston, MA, to end the long struggle that people of color had to face. Whether it was economic or educational inequality, they were struggling to have the same opportunities as others in the community. There was the media, again, not covering enough, or being biased. The media, however, did not provide accounts of racial and civil rights disruptions, so they had to make the noise and proceed with the protest.
Boston Globe reporter, Robert Levy, recalls, “You would not have been able to tell from reading the Globe in 1962 that the city was on the verge of a very long era of racial and civil rights disruptions that at times would consume the front page of the Globe for days or even weeks on end.”
City hall protest against budget cuts: The goals of this protest were to stop the budget cuts from happening, for arts education to be taken seriously and for the community to understand that arts are important for the youth, especially if we want well rounded students. It was very important to see the way that the students came together to fight for their education. The spectrum is getting larger. It goes from people of color, to students and some faculty.
City Hall protest against Trump: The goals of this protest were to provide protection for minorities, and for people who are a part of the LGBTQ community. Further goals included emphasizing the importance of public education, declaring MA and Boston sanctuaries for immigrants, and lastly, standing with Standing Rock. The spectrum is broadening more, LGBTQ, people of color, immigrants, minorities, students, low and middle class people.
Each of these protests were written about in newspapers such as the Herald and the Boston Globe, and the truth is, if anyone were to take off the dates from the publications, and the minor details- you would think any of the protests would have happened in any time period. Think about that.
Has change happened? Some, but not enough to say "Oh, no that was in the past."
Have there been steps taken towards change? Yes.
I said I would tell you whose voices were loud enough, but the answer is none. As people, we are one voice, we can only be heard if we voice the same opinions.
1963 to 2016 and protests have still sprung from the anger of minorities, stemming from police brutality. How can we fix even just a city, when the infrastructure of it is far beyond repair?
We must fight against injustice and inequality. Together. The protests were not fully successful, only because the only people that participated in the protests were people who were directly affected by the issue. This in fact is a wake up call for everyone to be an activist for their community and to never be silenced, because once you are silent, you have chosen the side of the OPPRESSOR.
When we all stand on one side, we will achieve strong, impactful change.
Stand together.
When we all stand together, we will be heard, we will have the loudest voice, and humanity will win.
