Salem’s 5th day of protests against police brutality began at 3 pm when hundreds of people gathered along Lancaster Drive in front of the Willamette Town Center. The protest there lasted until 7 pm, although a smaller group gathered at the Capitol until curfew at 11. Both protests remained peaceful for their entirety, and Wednesday marked the first day that Salem police did not arrive in riot gear to enforce the curfew.
The protest on Lancaster was organized by a group of college freshmen and the crowd consisted almost solely of youth. Young people from McKay, South, Sprague, and other local high schools were present in the crowd.
“As a person who has benefitted from white privilege, whether it was obvious or not, I have a duty to stand against the systematic racism that plagues our country. It’s time for things to change, and we must do all that we can to achieve that,” Anya Akimoff of Sourth’s class of ‘21 said on why she was protesting.
The protestors lined the street for two hours, cheering and waving signs that said “Silence Is Betrayal,” “Black Lives Matter,” “ACAB [all cops are bastards],” “Say Their Names” and more. Cars honked frequently as they passed, creating a relatively steady stream of horns. As cars honked, protestors chanted “Say his name, Ahmaud Arbery,” “No justice, no peace, no racist police” and “Say his name, George Floyd.”
Organizers handed out flyers with the legal rights of protestors in custody, in case people got arrested. Despite this preparation, the protest remained completely non-violent, with a very low visible police presence–two officers on foot and a couple patrol cars which appeared periodically.
After chanting and cheering for two hours, protestors gathered in the Willamette Town Center parking lot for speeches and an open mic. Bianca Arriaga, an organizer, called for black voices in the crowd to contribute.
“We can teach something different. Everything that can be learned can be unlearned,” Lynette, a 17-year-old from McKay, said in her speech about racism.
The speeches lasted for almost two hours, with people of all ages stepping up to share their stories, offer words of encouragement, express support, address the state of our nation and commend those gathered.
“[We must fight racism] so our kids are not raised in a world of discrimination, so we can walk without having to look over our shoulders. I urge you to say their names so they are never forgotten,” Kenya, a young woman from the crowd, told the other protestors.
Then, a little before 7 p.m., protest organizers thanked everyone in attendance and asked them to please peacefully disperse, so that they would be allowed to hold more protests at the center. By 7:05, the only people remaining in the parking lot were the organizers as they packed up the food and water that had been available for protestors.
Simultaneously, a smaller group gathered on the steps of the Capitol for the 5th consecutive day. Around 100 people were lining Court Street in front of the Capitol steps by 7:30. Like their counterparts on Lancaster, they too held signs and cheered as cars passed. Some of their signs read “No Freedom Till We’re Equal,” “justice For George Floyd,” “Equality,” “Don’t Shoot” and “Rest In Power.”
Protestors had also added more messages to the chalk art that Tuesday night’s protest left on the Capitol steps. One was a list of African-Americans who had been killed by police or armed civilians– Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott and more. Another simply read “End White Silence.”
Although those gathered at the Capitol numbered fewer than on previous nights, there was still a large pile of more than ten cases of water bottles and multiple boxes of food for protestors. These resources had all been donated by community members, including dozens of hamburgers, brought over right before curfew.
By 10:50 p.m., almost everyone had cleared from the Capitol area, except for about 25 people in a few small groups. Unlike on Tuesday, police in riot gear did not arrive at exactly 11 to enforce curfew. The first officers were not seen until 11:10 and they were Oregon State Police.
The troopers cleared everyone from the Capitol steps and then seven of them lined the steps watching the small groups meandering near the Capitol park. It was not until later that the first Salem police car arrived and several minutes beyond that before more showed up and they exited their vehicles.
The officers, devoid of riot gear, split into small groups and walked up to the various people gathered. They calmly explained that curfew was in effect, asked people to leave and said that they were giving people about 20 minutes to peacefully comply. The officers and one of the groups talked seemingly amicably for several minutes, before the group went to their vehicles.
By midnight, the downtown was cleared of all protestors, any bystanders and the armed men who have been positioned in front of Glamour Salon. This change in curfew enforcement comes right after complaints that the police department is enforcing curfew unequally and an apology video from Police Chief Jerry Moore about these complaints.
Protestors are expected to return to the Capitol tomorrow, although no formal event has been scheduled.
*Some of the people quoted are only identified by first name because they asked for their last names to be omitted.
