Hundreds of people were at Washington Park in Manitowoc on Saturday to support the Black Lives Matter Movement.
We spoke with a couple of the members of a local group of activists who organized the event, Jay Meeks and Alicia Solin.
Alicia was amazed by the sheer number of people that came out to support the cause. She estimated “500-600 people showed up…I didn’t see any point where there wasn’t a ton of people there all day. Kids were all over the playground, so many people were playing basketball, dancing, eating and talking.”
Jay told SeehaferNews.com that it was filled with “positive vibes. A lot of energy. A lot of people were excited to meet new people, and excited about the idea we had. Very supportive.”
Despite the fact that Jay mentioned both on the Facebook event page and at the Vigil last Wednesday that they were not looking for donations, many people opened up their wallets anyway. Alica said “Random people were walking up saying ‘How can I make a donation?’”
Jay said the group is not quite sure what exactly they are going to be doing with that money just yet, but they are talking about using it to donate to different charities both national and local.
Jay has said multiple times that supporters of the cause do not need to be black. In fact he welcomes anyone and everyone. Alicia is one of the people who did not let the fact that she is white stop her from supporting the cause.
We asked Alicia why she is so supportive of this cause, to which she said “It boils down to humanity. I am a mom of three kids. I could not having to explain to my children how to react in certain everyday situations. When you get pulled over, the only response you are supposed to get is ‘Can I see your license and registration?’, not I need to put my hands on the dashboard…I have to tell my kids that if they’re friends with people, they may be put in these situations at no fault of their friends.”
Several members of the Manitowoc Police Department and County Sheriff’s Office were on hand, including Sheriff Dan Hartwig, and Police Chief Nick Reimer. Jay and Alicia said that the group is still recovering from the long day, but as more events enter the planning stage, they will announce it on their Facebook group, Together We Rise.
