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| Organizers of the Windham Black Lives Matter peaceful protest, Zach DeFosse and Celine Baker, discuss the route of the protest march with Windham Police Chief Kevin Schofield at Windham High School on June 25. PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIE BUTLER |
Over 100 area residents came out to
participate in a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest held in Windham on June 25,
walking from the Windham High School to the Windham Public Safety Building along
Route 202 and back with a 15- to 20-minute opportunity for expressions on
social justice.
The event was organized by Zach DeFosse and
Celine Baker, both 2017 WHS graduates. Their main goal was to educate and
inspire awareness surrounding the current social justice concerns – and to do
so without violence.
“Throughout the process of planning our protest, Zach and I
agreed that our intention was to educate and bring awareness,” Baker said. “Neither
Zach or I wanted any harm, destruction, or violence to come of our protest and
thankfully everyone that attended helped us achieve that goal.”
DeFosse,
who is concerned about social justice, was inspired to create this event after
he attended the peaceful protest in Gorham.
“I was, and still am, deeply disturbed at the recent events
happening in this country, especially after such a long history of racism that
still exists today,” DeFosse said. “I had attended a peaceful protest in Gorham
that went very smoothly, and I wanted something like that to take place in
Windham as well. Since no one else seemed to be stepping up to do something
here, I decided I would take it on myself. I reached out to Celine, who is an
event planner, to help me make it actually happen.”
To make sure that the walk and protest would remain peaceful,
they reached out to the Windham Police Department for assistance.
“Looping the Windham PD into this peaceful protest was
important to us because we wanted to ensure the safety of community members,”
Baker said. “The Windham PD took this protest seriously and played a vital role
in providing safety measures like blocking off the road, watching for vehicle
vandalism, and crowd control if needed. Zach and I are very thankful for the
cooperation that the Windham PD showed and their support in shedding light on a
topic that demands attention.”
Windham
Police Chief Kevin Schofield was instrumental in the collaboration and was also
pleased with the event and the respect and honor the police department received
before and during the walk.
“We
are very pleased with the outcome of the event,” Schofield said. “It was very
peaceful and a perfect example of a productive expression of people’s first
amendment rights. The event organizers and many attendees thanked us for
our work on and supporting the event. [Zack and Celine] communicated with
us throughout the planning process, which was very helpful, specifically for
our planning. We also communicated with them of our plans to support the event.”
Attendees had a moment to express their thoughts on social
justice during the stopover at the Public Safety Building, which included
laying on the ground for nine minutes in honor and memory of George Floyd.
DeFosse
began with opening statements to include the following:
“It's important for people to realize that the phrase ‘Black
Lives Matter’ does not mean that black lives are more important than other
lives,” said DeFosse. “It simply means that in our society today, people of
color are not treated as fairly and justly as white people; therefore, it
is untrue and unfair to say that all lives matter until our actions show that black lives matter.”
Others had a moment to express their thoughts including Portland
author Abdi Nor Iftin who
was invited to attend and speak at the event. He shared his story on social
justice as an immigrant and then asked:
“Where
do we start with social justice? We read, we write, we walk, we talk.”
Others
who spoke, shared their own stories. The theme of their thoughts on social
justice was stated best by Windham resident, Kyron Hobdy.
“Nobody
is seeking special treatment; we all want to be treated the same.”
After
the event in a recent interview, Schofield shared his thoughts on social
justice and how the all officers are selected to honor it.
“I think
many terms we are hearing recently have very different meaning to different
people, thus it is important for everyone to listen objectively to one another
with an open mind,” Schofield said. “The best answer I can give is to quote one
of the speakers at the protest, ‘nobody is seeking special treatment, we all
want to be treated the same.’ The hiring standards for LE officers are very
high, the hiring process include physical agility testing, in-depth background
investigations, psychological assessments, poly graph examinations. Also, after
18 weeks of training we put cadets through 14 weeks of field training before
being cleared to work patrol. When hiring people, we look for candidates
who demonstrated a level of community involvement, civic organizations,
volunteer work and other experiences that indicate candidates are community
service oriented. I feel our officers excel at this.”
In this small community of Windham, many people
from all walks of life are working to overcome the social justice issues we
face today, using their first amendment rights in a proactive and productive
way with the hope that one day equality will prevail.
“I think that it’s safe to say that Zach and I have grown up
in a world that has faced and overcome many social issues,” Baker said. “As
young adults we feel that it is imperative to use our voices now to foster a
more accepting and inclusive community for the future. Personally, I wanted to
show people of color in the Windham community that they are not alone. The day
of the peaceful protest, I stood as an ally. I stood as a member of their
community who wants to make sure they are not alone in the fight for racial
equality. I stood to support, learn from, and love them.” <
