Prince Albert Chief of Police Jonathan Bergen speaks on stage during the Black Lives Matter protest at city hall on Saturday. (Jeff D’Andrea/paNOW Staff)

By Jeff D'Andrea

No justice, no peace

Black Lives Matter protest peaceful and powerful in Prince Albert

Jun 6, 2020 | 9:24 PM

Chants of “black lives matter” and “no justice, no peace” were shouted with passionate voices from the hundreds that gathered in front of Prince Albert’s city hall, and through the loudspeakers set up on its steps. Even the wind was loud on the blistery Saturday evening.

But perhaps the loudest message of the day did not come from a voice.

To end the protest, event organizer and speaker Diana Wooden led everybody through a demonstration of staying silent and taking a knee for eight minutes and forty-six seconds.

That’s how long Minneapolis, Minn. police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd’s neck during an arrest on May 25. That incident that killed Floyd sparked protests against police brutality around the world, just like the one in Prince Albert.

“Didn’t that seem like forever?” Wooden said after the time had expired.

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Wooden spoke what those harrowing eight minutes and forty-six seconds meant for Floyd. In that time, he called out for his mother. His last words were “I can’t breathe.” Having Chauvin’s knee in his neck is the last experience of Floyd’s life, Wooden said.

“The image of the officer’s knee on his neck is symbolic of the knee that has been on all black people’s necks for over 400 years. That knee signifies oppression. That knee is a symbol of injustice, intolerance, inequality in the workplace and a lack of equal opportunity for blacks in many sectors of society,” Wooden said to the crowd. “And we are collectively saying ‘we can’t breathe.’ We are tired of having the colour of our skin used as a weapon against us, instead of being seen as just another human being who wants to make it home safe to their families.”

Mayor Greg Dionne was invited to be a part of the protest. He grabbed the microphone and said he was so proud to see the citizens of his city speak out against racism. He also went as far as saying that many systems of government are “broken” and need to be addressed.

“Of course I’ll get in trouble from the government in saying this, but I’m going to. Our system isn’t just broken at the lower level. Our courts are broken. Our parole system is broken. Our prison system is broken,” Dionne said to rounds of cheers. “So we have a lot of work to do. But I know quite a few politicians today and leaders in our forces that aren’t afraid to tackle that problem.”

People gather with signs and masks at city hall in downtown Prince Albert for a Black Lives Matter protest. (Jeff D’Andrea/paNOW Staff)

While there has been tension between protestors and police services across the world in recent days, that doesn’t seem to be the case in Prince Albert.

Prince Albert Police Chief Jonathan Bergen was invited to speak at the event, and brought along deputy chief Jason Stonechild and three other officers. All of them took a knee for the entire 8:46 period of solidarity in honour of George Floyd. Bergen’s speech also garnered cheers from the crowd as he addressed racism head-on.

“We know we need to stand up against racism. And we need to be gentle with the trust that the public has in us,” Bergen said. “We have observed a tragedy with the death of George Floyd. And we expect accountability for the police actions and the police inactions.”

One thing made clear a number of times throughout the protest was clarifying what ‘Black Lives Matter’ actually means.

“I’m not saying that ‘only black lives matter,’ I am saying that for hundreds of years, our lives did not matter and we did not have a voice,” Wooden said. “And we are here to affirm that our lives matter a great deal and we will no longer be silenced.”

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW