[Antiracism] Playful Protest: Two Arrested, The Facts, Our Bodies, Our Lives!

[Perfectsnow Beatriz Bianco]

Hey Y'all,

Many of you heard about the rally I spearheaded that took place on Friday, March
13th. The objective of the protest was to raise awareness about the Business
Improvement District, which passed both its votes in City Council 8 to 1, the
second deciding vote taking place on March 19th, over spring break, and to
showcase the joyful beauty of the diverse street folk of Northampton. We gave
out free food, we played music, we sang, we danced, and as we began to march,
some of us took the streets. Three police officers followed us, yelling at us
and threatening us for peacefully protesting. One activist, Arturo, was
arrested inches from me, while gave no provocation and no resistance, three
officers violently tackled him to the ground, repeatedly shoving his face into
the asphalt. Our cry of, "Food shelter freedom, No new station, No more cops!"*
became, "Who do you serve? Who do you protect?"

We continued down Main Street, pausing on the corner and crossing to the raised
sidewalk under the bridge. The raised sidewalk is only accessible in one spot,
and so my friend and fellow protestor David, who was pushing my wheelchair and
I continued to march in the street as close to the side as possible (completely
out of traffic). The police parked their cars in the middle of road under the
bridge, and tried to corner us against the wall, all the while yelling at us to
get into the sidewalk and ignoring me when I addressed them. The officers
wrenched David off of the back of my wheelchair, arresting him as coldly as if
they were separating him from a shopping cart.

And even after this arrest we kept fighting, marching up Pleasant Street and
dancing and chanting, "Poverty is not a crime, Stop the BID!" in front of Hotel
Northampton and A-Z Science and Learning, both businesses on the BID Steering
Committee. By the time we marched back to City Hall, fifteen cops had
surrounded us. They had called for reinforcement from Easthampton as well as
State police. The cops called in multiple vans for mass arrest, and were heard
saying "park it where they can't see it, it's crowd control."

These kinds of violations of human rights are indicative of a systemic sickness
and cannot be tolerated in our community. *A component of the BID allots
17.5-19 million dollars plus millions of dollars in interest payments to
creating another police station downtown. More cops? More arrests? As a
solution to poverty and homelessness? I don't think so. They want to make the
city cleaner, more profitable, more beautiful? We are not garbage. We want that
money invested in accessible food, job training, a community center, the arts!

On April 2nd, the next City Council meeting, we are mobilizing once again.
However this will be a silent protest. Come dressed in all costumery and
regalia, face paint, body paint, bring flowers, signs stating your opposition.
Carry your hearts and souls with fervor and pride. WE NEED NUMBERS. PLEASE
SHOW.   THURSDAY, APRIL 2ND, 6 PM CITY HALL, NOHO.

In Solidarity, BB Sunshine