Home is where the rally is — and where end to racism starts, Edmonton comedian says
Edmontonians are being urged to listen, learn and get loud to support people of colour in a rally for social change that has gone digital to respect the rules of social distancing.
"Change for me means that we, as a community, stand together and acknowledge that the suffering of the many people of colour is real," said Sterling Scott, an Edmonton comedian who is part of Tuesday evening's Be The Change digital rally.
"Some people would believe that protests and rallies don't do anything. With this one, we want actual change to occur," he told CBC Radio's Edmonton AM on Tuesday.
Unlike in-person demonstrations taking place in cities throughout Canada and the United States, the Edmonton group opted to take the rally to social media given current public health restrictions on gatherings of more than 50 people.
The Facebook and YouTube live streams allow people to join from their homes — fitting, since home is where change needs to begin, Scott said.
"For any white person who is anti-racist, it does not take you long to find that person in your home or circle of friends who you know is obviously racist or a naysayer, a person who denies that the suffering of black people is real. And that's where you can start," Scott said.
"If you can change the narrative in your home, you can change the narrative in our community."
'We can still be loud'
Angry demonstrations against police brutality and racism were ignited by the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died in Minneapolis last Monday after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes during an arrest while he lay unarmed and handcuffed, protesting that he couldn't breathe.
The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with third-degree murder.
Edmonton's digital rally will begin at 6 p.m. MT with a moment of silence during which participants are urged to take a knee for two minutes and 53 seconds, the amount of time that Floyd was non-responsive under the police officer's knee.
At 8:46 p.m. — symbolic of the total time the officer remained on his neck — participants are urged to head outside their homes with pots, pans and megaphones to "bring the house down" for 30 seconds, states a post on the rally's Facebook page.
"This is the LOUD that we were hoping for with an in-person rally," says the post, written by Jesse Lipscombe, an Edmonton actor and rally organizer. "We can still be LOUD and impactful while socially distancing appropriately."
The Be The Change Facebook page has gained 4,400 members since being created on Sunday.
Scott is one of many speakers who will be part of the event, with others including Chris Katiiti, a transgender athlete, and Taneya Rogers, who was born in Trinidad and lived in some southern U.S. states before coming to Canada.
Many Edmontonians over the age of 30 probably did not meet a black person until they were in high school, Scott said. As a result, their opinions were already shaped by a negative narrative in the media and at home.
"Being a comedian in the city of Edmonton, I have met, talked to and touched and been a part of many people in this community. And what that has done is helped change the narrative within their minds," Scott said.
"Because what they've seen is that 'Hey this black person that I've met is nothing like what I've been told they are like.' And then they start to realize, 'Oh my goodness, I've been wrong.'"
