Roses and carnations were in the hands of 91原创 teenagers on Friday afternoon, passed out to anyone who would accept one while walking by the Walnut Grove skate park.
Alexander Savage, a 22-year-old 91原创 resident, decided to hold the gathering after taking inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement.
Savage said he attended the first protest in Vancouver, but felt he needed to do something locally.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen a lot of injustice and been part of it,鈥� Savage told the 91原创 Advance Times. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen racial things happen and have had them happen to me in Walnut Grove.鈥�
A dual citizen who also holds a U.S. passport 鈥� Savage said his idea was not to focus on the protest, rioting, and looting aspects that he felt he was seeing too much of south of the border, but specifically to talk about the justice and meaning of movement.
The protests in the U.S. were sparked by video of the death of George Floyd of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Arrested for allegedly passing a fake $20 bill, Floyd was handcuffed and died while a police officer knelt on Floyd鈥檚 neck for almost nine minutes.
The incident has led to protests across the United States and in many other countries, including Canada, over excessive use of force by police and systemic racism.
鈥淲e wanted to talk to people, because the best thing to do is talk,鈥� Savage explained. 鈥淐hanging people little by little with knowledge and conversation.鈥�
READ MORE: Peaceful walk highlights Black Lives Matter in 91原创
Fifteen to 20 people 鈥� most of them students of Walnut Grove Secondary 鈥� saw Savage鈥檚 Facebook post and came to show support between 1 and 5 p.m on June 5.
鈥淚t was a way to show how angry we are that people don鈥檛 understand,鈥� he assured. 鈥淎ll some see is darkness and we just want to share the light.鈥�
He noted that hand sanitizer and gloves were brought to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
鈥淪ome people were open to talking, others purposely avoided the group and actually walked on to the road to bypass us,鈥� he said.
When the afternoon had passed, Savage felt more people came out than he expected and wouldn鈥檛 have been able to do it without support.
鈥淚 just felt like a regular person at the skate park with a group of friends,鈥� he added.
Savage said he hopes to pass out flowers again next Friday, June 19 and people can follow him at on Instagram for updates.
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Email: ryan.uytdewilligen@langleyadvancetimes.com
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