Images by Chris Faraone
If you took a picture on the corner of Newbury Street and Mass Ave every day for the past several decades, you would probably see a lot of recurring images, month after month, year after year, and so on. Shopping drones swirling, the occasional panhandler being ignored by a yuppie. You might even see a protest or two, but never in the pics from the cold months—not if they were taken since the Cold War ended (the first time, not Obama’s gesture toward Cuba a few weeks ago).
But lately, you’d get quite a few pics of demonstrators. Particularly those those voicing opposition to police brutality, like a few dozen did this afternoon. From their public statement:
This creative protest is to bring light to the police brutality/violence/mass incarceration that’s been thriving for 400 years. We are taking over the Newbury streets and sidewalks with the Die In and creative approaches.
We are protesting with music, dance, visual symbolizing, singing done by Boston Arts Academy students
Among their chants: “Same story every time / Being black is not a crime.” No doubt, but the protest was rather unique. The horde, relatively large considering the icy temp, shut down Newbury Street, and as promised proceeded to dance, drum, and flip the protest script.
After taking the corner of Mass Ave and Newbury at 3:45pm, two circles of rallyers—mostly young and some older, a few in high school and others in college—held hands while speakers and performers read the names of people killed by cops and brought their message: “Black Lives Matter.” For starters.
Like one protester said, “We are in this movement because black people are being killed.”
More protest coverage coming all the time, constantly. For now, some pics …
A Queens, NY native who came to New England in 2004 to earn his MA in journalism at Boston University, Chris Faraone is the editor and co-publisher of DigBoston and a co-founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. He has published several books including 99 Nights with the 99 Percent, and has written liner notes for hip-hop gods including Cypress Hill, Pete Rock, Nas, and various members of the Wu-Tang Clan.
