A staple in the Kamloops community is hoping residents who are attending this Thursday's Black Lives Matter rally at Riverside Park are doing so with the right ideas in their hearts.
Vince Watson, who is an Events and Marketing Coordinator at TRU, as well as an executive member of the Kamloops Caribbean Cultural Society, is encouraging residents to attend the event with only peace on their minds. With protests and riots escalating in the United States following the police-involved death of George Floyd, Watson believes the best way to stand up is by spreading love.
"I'm really just hoping to see the diversity that exists within our Kamloops community sort of come together peacefully just to spread love about the situation that's happening in not only the United States, but around the world in some cases," said Watson. "Like I said, bring peace, share peace, share love, and come together and just try to bring awareness for the whole thing for why it's important."
"It doesn't only need to be black people there, you know what I mean, people all throughout the Kamloops community, everyone, in this case, can help. Even if you are not someone who goes through some of those struggles, it can be an opportunity to perhaps learn about it. Enlightening yourself to be able to provide more support to your community and your friends."
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, but growing up in Brooklyn and Fort Lauderdale, Watson explained that he and his family were not exempt from racial injustice involving police officers. Even being a collegiate athlete, he experienced prejudice from neighbours, workers, and more.
"I've been racially profiled before, growing up in the states, living in Brooklyn... I remember you go to the park, the playground on the weekends to play ball or whatever. Sometimes there'd be a dispute or something for a large group of minorities at the park playing ball, and I remember sometimes police would show up and people would just start running. For me, that was a normal thing, and it's not supposed to be normal, but when you're growing up in the inner city, you'd rather run away before it escalates than to stick around and see what happens."
Watson noted that his brother had a particularly terrifying situation when he was dragged out of a vehicle by cops in America.
"With my younger brother, who was actually pulled over by police, he was so uncomfortable because he was on a dark road driving home. Him, his friend, and his girlfriend, they're driving on a dark road headed home, a police officer comes up behind them, and he was so afraid to stop in the middle of nowhere because, oftentimes in the states when you hear about police killings, they happen where there are no witnesses. He was just so afraid to stop his car in the middle of a back road that he maintained the speed limit and drove a few more blocks until he got to a gas station, just so he had witnesses around."
"By the time he got to the gas station, there were about five police cars. Him, his friend, and his girlfriend got dragged out of the car at gunpoint and arrested."
Coming to Kamloops to attend TRU in 2012, Watson even had an instance of racial profiling in the River City. He and a friend were allegedly stopped in a vehicle by police on Columbia Street when two officers came up to them, demanding to see both their IDs. Watson, who was in the passenger seat during this instance, said police asked to see his ID because they didn't know if he had "a warrant out for his arrest."
"When I first moved here back in 2012, my first semester here, my roommate and I, who are both black, were pulled over by police. So he was driving and I was in the passenger side, and usually, when you're pulled over by the police, you have one officer who deals directly with the driver, but we had both officers come up to the vehicle, one on the driver side and one on the passenger side. They asked for both of our IDs, and I didn't say much because obviously I am new to the country and didn't want to push the issue, but my roommate, who is Canadian, said to the officer, 'what do you need to ID him for? You have my driver's license.'"
"The officer, after they went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, obviously a little bit agitated, said 'well I don't know, how do I know he doesn't have a warrant out for his arrest? We need to see his ID.' So I felt like that was inappropriate. That was basically racially profiling me that I might possibly have a warrant out for my arrest. I've pulled over in a vehicle with Canadians that are not black, and I haven't had any experiences like that."
Despite dealing with those issues, Watson is still urging residents to use this Thursday's movement as an opportunity to learn and grow as a community.
"These are things that are not supposed to be normal, but over time they've become normal, and I think it's time for it to end."
"I think no matter where you're from, no matter what your background, there is something that you can learn. So I would love to see people come together, support the whole movement, be peaceful, and promote unity and peace."
Watson went on to say he wants Kamloopsians to know that "hate doesn't conquer hate," and joining together tomorrow is a great first step in showing support.
"The biggest message that I probably would share is that hate doesn't overcome hate, hate doesn't conquer hate, only love can do that. So I know people are upset and emotional about what's happening... I don't think there is anyone more upset about what's been happening than myself, because my family has been directly impacted by some of the police brutality, racial discrimination, and profiling that takes place. But I think at the end of the day, we have to understand that this is an opportunity for all of us to come together, for us to unite, for us to teach one another, support one another, show love to one another, and I think that's the only way we're going to overcome this."
"It's not hate that's going to make a change. It's very easy for people to get wrapped up with their emotions, get aggressive, or whatever the case, and we're seeing a lot of that right now because it's (racial injustice) gone on for some time. People have turned the other cheek to it, people ignored it, people have denied it, but people of colour, we live through it. There are things that have become normal in our day-to-day lives that are simply not right."
Those looking to attend tomorrow's rally should head to Riverside Park by the Rotary Bandshell for noon.
