Black Lives Matter, A sentiment too hard to grasp for Montreal Police

“White feelings should never be held in higher regard than black lives” - Rachel Cargle

Black lives matter. Whatever opinions or judgments one has, it should not affect the fact that a black person is still someone who deserves our kindness. They are the same as everyone else, and the color of their skin should not change that. Their lives matter just as much as anyone’s and yet so many in society think less of them. We need to be beside them and not stand against them.

Some many people and organizations have stepped up to face this problem to help Black people and communities who have faced and are facing the heat due to other’s opinions through no fault of their own.

One such organization that has made its way to millions of hearts around the world is the Black Lives Matter foundation/movement.

Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc, is an international association that exists primarily in the US, UK, and Canada. Their main goal is to eliminate white predominance and build local power to put an end to all the violence that both the state and vigilantes mete out to Black communities.

Many people and countries have stopped discriminating against black people, or at the very least taken some initiatives on how to fight this problem. The country of Canada however, seems to have a slight problem in grasping this sentiment.

There have been a few small incidents in Canada that suggest that a few people still discriminate against black people. One such incident occurred on June 10th.

On June 10th, a few officers were called to a scene, where 15 teenagers/young people were fighting. According to the police, two people out of these 15 had a weapon on their person. One of these two people was armed with a stun gun. This encounter occurred near a high school in the Villeray neighborhood, Montreal. It is still not clear as to what exactly happened in the preceding events to the encounter between the police officer and the youth.

After the officers arrived at the scene, the youths started to run. Two teens, however, were apprehended by the police and were forced down. Both police officers had their knees on the necks of these youths, and what’s even more shocking is that at least one of these teens was black.

For a few people, the 90-second video brought forth memories of George Floyd whose passing caused an uproar and an American uprising.

After this video drew a furor from both politicians and human rights advocates - many of whom conveyed their indignation/alarm on how these 14-year-olds were restrained - the same police said that they would start an investigation on the precise events of this encounter.

Balarama Holness, a human rights advocate who is running for mayor in Montreal agrees that such forms/techniques for restraint should not be permitted nor tolerated. He also mentions that the police should be held accountable for any such incidents.

Fueled by the Black Lives Matter movement, Canada has been undergoing a national awakening about institutional racism, police forces included.

On Sunday in Montreal, thousands of black people along with other minorities demanded an instantaneous end to any form of discrimination and/or police harassment.

Black Lives Matter, also known as BLM, is a social and international movement that protests against police brutality and all violence against black people.

Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi are all founders of this organization, all of whom have the same goal; making people understand that black lives are just as important.

On July 13, 2013 - after the acquittal of George Zimmerman of the murder of Trayvon Martin - Alicia Garza posted a message on Facebook.

This message contained the following “stop saying we are not surprised. That's a damn shame in itself. I continue to be surprised at how little Black lives matter. And I will continue that. stop giving up on black life. Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.”

Her Facebook post carries the phrase “Black Lives Matter”. This soon becomes a rallying cry and a motivational movement all around the world.

This post is responsible for initiating the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Canadians are known to be some of the most well-mannered and peace-loving human beings on earth. The three values that this society values the most are; tolerance, humility, and non-violence. If a few of them only can be so cruel to Black people, can you imagine what black people feel?

In correspondence to the Canadian Index of Wellbeing at the University of Waterloo, Canadians value - and claim to follow and preach - many things. A few of them are; fairness, inclusion, equity, safety, etc.

But are they truly following these? Are they being fair to black communities? They value safety and equity, but in such videos, it is clearly seen that they think of themselves as of higher stature than Black people. Do you think that Black people feel safe in such environments?

We need to let Black people and communities know that we stand with them, and truly want to help.

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