Why was Fresno’s protest a success? Because it was led by young black people, organizers say
Fresno’s “We Can’t Breathe” protest on Sunday has been lauded as a major success, and that’s because it was led by black young people, organizers and community members say.
The protest was organized by Fresno State’s chapter National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. It drew a crowd of nearly 3,500 and has been praised by city leaders as a national example of a peaceful demonstration as other cities across the nation have seen unrest.
When Fresno State’s NAACP members started seeing protest fliers circulate online late last week, they were concerned because they knew the events weren’t spearheaded by black people, said D’Aungillique Jackson, the chapter president.
“We had to pull them aside and say, ‘Are you an ally? If you are, you wouldn’t be doing this. You have to understand you can’t speak for us, otherwise you’re silencing us. If you don’t see a black person move, you shouldn’t move,’” she said.
Careful planning
Longtime community organizer JePahl White said Sunday’s protest was more successful than past events in part because it was “expertly organized.”
Jackson said she knew no protest could take place without a police presence. “Either way, they’re going to be there for us, or they’re coming for us.”
So she planned for that.
After marching in San Jose, she knew young people would be the ones to show up, and she wanted to protect them from potential clashes with police.
Jackson said her trust in the police remains thin, so she built backstops of her own to serve protesters. Those safeguards included a group of trusted and well known black men to conduct crowd control, a medical team and lawyers with the National Lawyers Guild to act as legal observers.
She approached the city of Fresno seeking a permit for the event, which initially was restricted to only the sidewalks. But after it became clear the event would be too large for the sidewalk, the Fresno Police Department reached out to her to say police would block off roadways.
Some people criticized her methods, saying she was working with the city and police — the very groups people wanted to protest. Her response: “They work FOR us.”
When Sunday came around, the schedule was full with prayer, speakers and performances, thanks to Justice Medina.
Medina led the protest in 2016 for the Fresno police killing of Dylan Noble. That connected him with many involved and influential leaders in the black community, he said.
He asked people to get involved who he knew would help achieve the goal of keeping the event peaceful.
Violence is misunderstood
While many in the city have congratulated Fresno’s protest organizers for keeping the event “peaceful,” Jackson said that type of attitude proves most people don’t understand black people’s experiences.
“What’s happening around the rest of the country is absolutely necessary,” she said. “In the case of Minneapolis, for the officer who killed George Floyd, in order for him to be arrested – not even charged – they had to burn down half of their city.
“Even though Fresno systemically experiences the same issues, we’ve not yet reached our breaking point the way Minneapolis has. We still have room for growth,” she said. “So for us it was important to go out there with a peaceful mindset. We wanted the police department to see: You’re watching the rest of the country riot. We had 3,500 people. This could’ve been us.
“This was gifted to you as a favor,” she said.
Medina agreed that the unrest in the rest of the country is necessary.
“I’ve never seen any revolution take place in this country without violence,” he said.
White noted that in many cities, white nationalists and agitators have been pegged with causing upheaval such as looting and vandalism.
“We wanted to make sure to create safe space for folks to be able to express themselves, their anger, frustration and sadness,” White said. “Righteous indignation is OK. We have to turn that anger into action.”
Youth leadership key
White, the longtime community organizer, said the young leaders of Sunday’s protest were able to leverage the rage across the country to move the dialogue forward and demand sustainable policy changes.
“It was literally like capturing lightning in a bottle,” White said.
The fact that this protest was youth led made it successful and important, he said.
“The difference between Sunday and other protests is who put it on,” he said. “The young people breathed new energy, new life and new hope into what we’re trying to do in Fresno around police reform.”
The role of longtime organizers such as White is to provide wisdom to the next generation, he said.
“As seasoned organizers, sometimes we don’t know our place. For these movements to be successful, we must have young people engaged and out front leading,” he said. “My job is to help the next generation step in and lead and to be a door opener and a path creator for young folks.”
Medina pointed out that young black people have a history of organizing, using the Black Panthers as an example.
“We can’t wait for the older generation to tell us what to do,” he said. “It’s time to revolutionize the way we protest.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 12:55 PM.