‘Stand up and do something’: Thousands gather for Spokane’s MLK Day march and rally

Thousands marched down Spokane Falls Boulevard wielding signs wearing beanies and puffer coats Monday morning to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and calls for social justice.

The marchers completed a small loop from Spokane Falls Boulevard to Washington Street and back to the convention center, where people congregated with their signs and visited with one another. Many marchers watched as Rick Bocook, a street chalk artist, used charcoal and chalk to draw a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. outside of the convention center. After finishing the sidewalk portrait of King, Bocook began drawing Angela Davis.

While many signs quoted some of King’s more memorable quotes, some addressed national issues like the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 7 as she drove away from agents on a residential street. (Federal officials say Good was threatening the officer. Minneapolis leaders have denounced that narrative).

Participants first gathered at the Spokane Convention Center where Martin Luther King Jr. Family Outreach Center Director Freda Gandy, NAACP Spokane Chapter President Lisa Gardner, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown and others spoke at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day rally .

One marcher was 13-year-old Abrielle Barreto, who attends Spokane International Academy. She held a double-sided sign that read “the color of my skin should not place a target on my back,” on one side, and “ICE should be in my drinks, not my community” on the other side. Barreto said she came out because of the things she sees on the news that bother her – things that she and her mother talk about at the dinner table.

“There are so many things in school that are really messed up,” Barreto said, holding her sign. “There’s so many people who need to learn that it’s OK to go out and fight against things that are obviously not right, like all the deportations and all the racism that have been going on.”

Barreto said she’s frustrated that problems like racism are still not solved, especially considering how long people like her have been fighting against it. She and her mother have discussed what Barreto should do if her citizenship in the U.S. is questioned.

“I’ve been in situations where I’ve been more targeted because of the way I look,” Barreto said, gesturing to her brown skin.

Fellow students in elementary school would call Barreto racial slurs and bully her because she looked different, she said.

“That’s why we do these marches,” Barreto said.

Barreto wasn’t the only student involved at the march on Monday.

Students from Grant Elementary School danced in front of the Spokane Convention Center during the march, wearing brightly colored clothes that were quick to attract the attention of marchers, stopping some in their tracks.

The students are a part of the Grant Elementary Drummers and Dancers group led by Director Kevin Cope and Assistant Director Joelene Garland. The dancers typically come out for MLK Day every year, Garland said. Every dance the kids perform are traditional dances from all over Africa, Garland said.

It’s important kids are involved in events like this because they are the future, Garland said. Grant Elementary is the most diverse elementary school in Spokane, so Garland said it was important to have a club like this one for kids of color to participate in.

“It is learning who we are, bringing people together and education,” Garland said.

While students danced to the sound of Cope’s drum, a small band played familiar tunes like “This Land Is Your Land.”

Garret Daggett, a historian for the Buffalo Soldiers Spokane Chapter, stopped to listen and get pictures with other marchers. The Buffalo Soldiers is a motorcycle club that pays homage to the Black soldiers who served in the military from 1866 to 1944, particularly the 9th and 10th Calvary soldiers who fought after the Civil War, Daggett said.

Daggett and his fellow Buffalo Soldiers all wore leather jackets with yellow patches with the wearers name and title within the organization. He’s been with the club for five years.

“This is one of my favorite events to be a part of. We’re here to represent and actually uphold the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King,” Daggett said. “We just love to be a part of it and see Spokane come together.”

Daggett has lived in Spokane since 1997 and said the city hasn’t always been united against racism – and Spokane still has a long way to go.

“When I first came here, racism and discrimination was definitely much more prevalent,” Daggett said. “But now, in this new climate, it seems like we come back full circle and maybe taken a few steps back with the current administration in our country leading the White House right now. White supremacists feel like they have a license to be what they want to be, and so it’s up to good people to stand up and do something.”

And that’s what the rally and march are all about – standing up for equality, Daggett said.