As protests against police brutality and racism continue around the world, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Dartmouth on June 6 to march in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

The crowd of mostly younger residents met in Padanaram in the early evening before walking up to Bishop Stang, chanting in support of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two recent victims of police brutality. 

Floyd died on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee onto Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. The officers involved have since been arrested. 

Taylor was killed when she was shot eight times at her Louisville home in March by police who were later found to be the wrong apartment. The officers involved were placed on administrative leave. 

June 5 would have been Taylor’s 27th birthday.

Amy McGonnigal, who helped her childhood friend Emily Harding assemble a demonstration near the Dartmouth Mall earlier in the day, said she was amazed by how many people came out to march. 

“When we started marching in Padanaram, we filled up the whole bridge,” she said. “This was definitely not what I initially expected.”

McGonnigal said the aim was not just to seek justice for individuals who have died, but reform of policing in America to prevent more people of color from dying at the hands of those whose job is to serve and protect.

The issue struck a nerve with participants like Jonah Wilson.

The Dartmouth resident said he joined the march because he is sick of all of the killing.

“We figured with the Covid lockdown, there’d be less police brutality in this country,” Wilson said. “Every week it’s a new name I need to remember.”

He added that he would like to see more de-escalation training among the nation’s police departments and less military-style equipment.

During the march, demonstrators made a stop at the former police station to hold a moment of silence and have residents of color give testimony about their experiences with police brutality and racism.

One speaker talked about how her brother was killed by Dartmouth police in 2009, but how happy she was to see so many young people step up so that this does not have to happen again.

“I’ve lived in Dartmouth my whole life and this has been an ongoing problem constantly,” she said. “Unfortunately somebody had to pass again for us to say that this is enough.”

As the crowd marched up Slocum Road, many motorists honked their support, with some waving their arms and cheering on the protesters from their porches as they marched with a police escort. 

“These protesters want to be heard, and they deserve to be heard,” Dartmouth Police Detective Kyle Costa said. “We are firm supporters of that at Dartmouth PD.”

Peter Knowlton, who was a part of the anti-war movement during the 1960s and 70s, noted that this march was unlike any of the demonstrations he was a part of in the past. He said he was amazed by how much diversity there was in the crowd.

“This is probably the most hopeful I’ve ever been about our country,” Knowlton said. “This is the generation that will actually make a difference.”

New Bedford resident Peter Walker said that he came out with his daughter Nyla to show her the importance of demonstrating. 

Not only does he want to give Nyla a better future, he said, but he also wanted her to see that people in communities like Dartmouth are fighting for people like her.

“These people are my heroes,” he said. “When a star explodes, another solar system is created. Something great will come out of this movement.”