A way of manifesting Stratford’s solidarity with the black lives matter movement.
That’s what the organizer of a silent vigil in the cities market square says was behind the event which was held during the noon hour on Monday.
Sadie Berlin, a resident of the city for nine years and a theatre artist, says participants came together while staying socially distanced to commemorate all black and brown lives lost to police brutality including George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed in Minneapolis last week.
Berlin says the events in Minneapolis and elsewhere resonate locally.
“When someone is killed because they are black it’s an assault on all black people and we feel it in our bones and in our bodies.”
The officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Floyd’s death has resulted in violent protests and looting as well as rallies and marches across the United States and Canada.
***With files from Mo Fahim.
Silent Vigil held in Stratford on Monday. (Photo supplied by My Stratford Now Reporter Mo Fahim).
