Locals support nationwide Black Lives Matter protests

About 50 people gathered and marched June 4 in Polson to listen to, learn from, and support people of color in the community.

Jessica Edwards and Jenn Groves brought together a wide range of people — young and old, high and low-income, diverse cultures and races — to show that they stand for the rights and safety of all Americans.

Edwards explained to the group gathered at Riverside Park, “I want people to be aware that there is a problem of racial discrimination in Polson. Some people see it every day, and some don’t see it at all. I wanted to give those who see it, face it, live with it every day a chance to have their voices heard so that we can recognize this is a problem in Polson.”

“I believe that the 6th Amendment to the Constitution matters a lot,” Edwards continued. “Every person is to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. I also recognize that a lot of people don’t find that to be the case. They are assumed guilty. Specifically, our African American brothers and sisters are facing that problem a lot right at the moment. I am really proud that they are speaking up. Since we don’t have a whole lot of African Americans in Polson, I would like other voices to blend in to try to help make that voice a little louder. We’re just wanting to provide a platform for other people’s voices that really need to be heard, so thank you for coming to make that platform a whole lot bigger.”

Groves, whose family includes two black daughters, said, “There are no problems with law enforcement here.” However, her two black daughters experience “quite significant” racism, in the schools, where they shop, and from customers at their places of employment. “People think we don’t have racism here. That’s not true, we just hardly have black people here. That’s probably where a lot of the disconnect comes from.”

“Especially for my daughters, when they turn on the news every day and they see a person of color being murdered for the color of their skin, it hits really, really deep.”

Her daughters debated not even coming to the protest.

“They don’t want to be the ‘token’ black people, they don’t want to be anybody’s example, they don’t want people to say, ‘I’m friends with a black person so I’m not racist.’ And they felt unsafe, honestly. They ultimately decided that they could be safe here, and wanted to be in solidarity with their black brothers and sisters around the nation. So they decided to rally.”

Almost as if to illustrate the point, a person drove by the supportive crowd as they walked down the street carrying signs against racism, and shouted “unpleasant things,” as Edwards put it, at the Groves girls.

“In case you are not aware of the racism that exists in Polson,” said Edwards during the discussion held after the walk, “that was not a stranger. That was someone who these girls know by name. So you know it’s not the first time that they’ve heard that. It’s not just strangers driving by. It’s people that they see in school every day.”

On the other hand, “We got so much positivity today, people honking and waving. I didn’t expect that,” said Edwards. She added, “There were so many people who reached out to us and said they couldn’t make it on short notice, and I heard from tons of parents who worried that it might be unsafe for their kids to participate. I hope we can reach out and get more people to join us.”

The group carried signs and walked on sidewalks through downtown Polson. They stopped in front of the courthouse. In chalk on the sidewalk, they wrote names of many black people who were killed at the hands of law enforcement throughout the country. Several left flowers in their honor. One participant wrote the name of Botham Jean, and said he attended the same college as she had.

Officer George Simpson of the Polson City Police Dept. accompanied the walkers, chatting and sharing in the discussion. He spoke at the gathering afterward, thanking the group for the chance to join them.

“The idea was, I wanted to participate in this as well, but at the same time, I’m not here to distract from your message. I also wanted to be here to be sure you guys were safe.

“Every member of our community, and every guest in our community, is important to us.”

He encouraged people to reach out to the police department.

“Law enforcement is here. Be heard. Let me know what you want me to know. If you have any problems, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here for everybody equally, all the way across.”

Officer Simpson was asked how the department felt about the recent death of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement, the video of which has set off nationwide protests.

“Heartbroke,” he said. “Murder, that’s what it is. That’s how we feel about it. That stuff happens. It’s real. It happens all across the country. He’s not the only person, just the most recent person, the one that’s in the news right now. It’s horrific.

“We’re members of the community just like each one of you are. When something like that happens, it’s horrible across the board. We condemn it all the way. There’s no excuse for that, no matter what’s going on. Our job is to safeguard lives, liberty, rights, and the individuality of all people, all the way around, no matter what. No matter where you’re from, what color you are, whether you’re from Polson, or California, or wherever, doesn’t matter.”

He said he wished more law enforcement across the country would feel this way.

“Montana is the last best place, right? And this is the last, last best place,” he smiled.

Chief Wade Nash echoed the same message when contacted separately. The Polson Police Dept. is racially diverse, with men and women, and he values the perspective that diversity brings to the force, he says. He said he was in close contact with event organizers, with the main goal to have a peaceful process in which everyone stays safe.

“There have been protests in lots of cities in Montana, and there have been a couple of incidents,” when the protests were interrupted. “The locals shut it down,” Nash said. “That’s when you know people are uniting for the right reasons, keeping it peaceful and purposeful.”

“Wade Nash and the Polson City Police were super hospitable to say, ‘Come and do this, anywhere in the city,’” said Jessica Edwards’ husband, Jason.

As the event wrapped up, one person led a chant of “Black lives matter!” He asked that as people said it, they “think of all the people — Black, Indian, people of color in your life, and send them blessings. You are a blessing.”