It was sad news to many on the night of November 24th, when it was publicly announced that Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson had not been indicted in the killing of 18-year old Michael Brown, which had occurred earlier in August of this year.
As outrage, sadness, and waves of emotion spread over Ferguson and across the nation, many took to social media and other outlets to voice their opinions and concerns. To mourn the loss of a young man’s life, pay tribute, and speak out in a safe space, a vigil was held in downtown Ottawa outside of the United States embassy at 6:00pm the evening of November 25th, 2014.
As requested on the Facebook page for the event, myself, along with two other students from the University of Ottawa, gathered with others in the square across from the U.S. embassy at Sussex and York. Much like our group of three, many of those who gathered together were of differing backgrounds, but all were united that evening under the shared intention of paying respect to the life a young man lost, recognizing the injustices that are occurring today, and listening to the voices which deserved to be heard.
The vigil was well-organized, and put together in very little time given the circumstances. Those attending were provided with simple and effective instructions on the purpose of the vigil, and had a safe space formed across the street for those who needed to step outside of the crowd for a moment and have a warm beverage or snack. The event was posted on Facebook under hosts Dylan Penner, Bilan Arte, Honora Tucker, Chris Jones, Kandace P., and Ben Powels. As well, for any who had been on the uOttawa campus or in the downtown Ottawa area November 25th, posters reading “Black Lives Matter”, were made noticeable, and not only noted the time and location of the vigil for those who wished to attend, but also paid respect to the memory of Michael Brown and the outrage from decisions made the previous evening.
While the event did not appear to have as large of a turnout of the close to 900 who had R.S.V.P’d on the Facebook page, it was quite amazing to see how many people chose to take a stand on this cold Ottawa evening. As noted by fellow students Jordan and Omar, there were a noticeable number of faces of fellow students and youth, of course in the addition to the presence of some older Ottawa residents, and even a few parents with their children.
As more and more people gathered, the vigil organizer Balin Arte took to the microphone, speaking words of pure truth and emotion over Brown’s death and the current protests and events taking place in Ferguson. As she spoke to us, Arte told the crowd “What happened in Ferguson is not an isolated incident… This is not something that is far from us.”
Following Arte’s opening words, the crowd remained silent as a soulful drum line was given, showing the power of music in addition to speech. Two other event organizers gathered to read a letter from Ferguson residents, titled “We’re Living in an American Horror Story.” The letter was followed by a list of names dating back to over a century of those black men and women who had been killed through acts of violence by officers in Canada. Reminding those gathered that such injustices are not foreign to Canadian soil.
The crowd was instructed to come together in four and a half minutes of silence, to represent the corresponding hours that Brown’s body had been left on the street of Ferguson after the fatal shooting.
The silence was then followed by a number of speakers from within the crowd, all voicing different stories, emotions and reminders of those injustices which have occurred in addition to what has happened in Ferguson this past year. If Ottawa police officers had estimated any form of uproar or violence from the crowd, they would have been proven very wrong. All those who spoke were listened to, the crowd showing support through claps, occasional shouts of support and encouragement, as well as with posters aligning the circle reading quotes such as “Black Voices Matter” and “Racism Exists”.
Walking away from this event, while still feeling incredibly emotional and frustrated by the circumstances we had all gathered under, it was extremely touching to see what silence and peaceful protesting looked like. I hope that the opinions and emotions expressed by those who chose to come together in downtown Ottawa are reflective of the changes to come, and the need to react.
Those interested can watch a short video of clips from the vigil from the Ottawa Citizen website here.
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