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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

WSU walks for justice for all

By Stacy Thacker Lewiston Tribune

PULLMAN – Silence surrounded the group as they marched with signs held high from Washington State University into downtown Pullman.

About 200 people gathered on the steps of Beasley Coliseum for the Walk for Justice protest Friday evening. Many held signs in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, while others held signs seeking equality, justice, love and peace.

Event organizers Brianna Smathers, 18, and Sabine Pendry, 19, said the protest was meant to remember recent shooting victims Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana, as well as others who have been victims of police brutality. Castile was killed, allegedly at the hands of a police officer, while his girlfriend live-streamed the event on Facebook. The video, and another involving the reported fatal shooting of Sterling at the hands of police in Louisiana, prompted protests against police nationwide two weeks ago. Five Dallas police officers were killed and more were wounded at one such rally by a sniper.

While these events are happening nationwide, Pullman organizers wanted to educate people on the Palouse about the issues that surrounds the equality movement.

“It doesn’t hit close enough to home for them,” Pendry said.

The Palouse, with a majority Caucasian population, hasn’t seen the same effects of racism as other areas in the nation, Pendry said. If overt discrimination isn’t happening directly in their community, then she said people tend to ignore it altogether.

“It opens the eyes of the people who don’t think these issues exist,” Smathers said.

Protest organizers said the event aimed to bring about a sense of solidarity with other protesters nationwide who are having similar events.

Smathers and Pendry were both surprised by the turnout.

“It’s honestly much bigger than we thought it was going to be,” Pendry said.

The pair said they didn’t know how the community would react when they started organizing the event but they weren’t met with harsh comments. Pendry said a few people commented that they didn’t agree with the message, but it was nothing like the backlash Madison Winn received when she began organizing a Black Lives Matter Too event in Lewiston.

Winn was met with death threats and racial comments when word came out that she was sponsoring a Black Lives Matter rally on the sidewalks of the Interstate Bridge between Lewiston and Clarkston.

“We haven’t seen anything in that way,” Pendry said.

“Which is really lucky on our part,” Smathers said.

Although the comments were tame, the Pullman Police Department and the Washington State University Police Department made sure officers were present.

“We want to make sure the participants are safe,” Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said in a phone interview before the march.

Tennant said officers weren’t worried about participants getting out of hand, but he said there were people who opposed the event. The police presence was designed to make sure nobody tried to step in and ruin it, he said.

“There wasn’t anything near the negativity that the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley has experienced,” he said.

About three officers walked with protesters to ensure their safety and one officer said he was also there to help mend relationships.

“I understand there’s been a bridge burned between police and minority groups,” said Shane Emerson, a Pullman officer whose beat is College Hill.

Emerson said he wants to be a part of rebuilding that bridge.

“I think it shows what kind of community this is,” he said about the protest, and the support that’s been shown for it.

The police presence was something Pendry said she appreciated.

“We are not against police. We are against police brutality,” she said. “We’re advocating peace and unity of people. Not division.”

Protester Nathan Coats said he was there to raise awareness of systemic racism in society. Which he said includes police brutality and jobs in the private sector where black people are less likely to be hired because of the color of their skin.

“I feel like as a white male, I need to respond to that,” he said. “I hope this protest changes a lot of lives.”

Coats held a sign that read “Is life a white privilege?”

Coats said he hopes the protest gets the attention of local, state and federal government leaders, as well as the community as a whole.

“I want to help influence the conversation,” added Jordyn Beckford, 19. “By being here and all of us coming together, it helps people realize what’s going on.”

For Racheal Cortner, 19, the march was her first protest. She said she feels strongly about the lives lost at the hands of police and said marching was a good way to show her support.

“Now is the time that people should get out there and voice their opinion,” she said.

Cortner hopes the protest shows the community that people can connect nationwide on an issue, and they can all support one another even if they aren’t from the same community.

“One small movement can change the world,” she said.