Peaceful protest calls for equality, denounces racism in downtown Shenandoah
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Scenes from Sunday's protest in Shenandoah.
SHENANDOAH – “We felt like it needed to happen here,” said Courtney Peterson, of Shenandoah, one of the three organizers of Sunday’s March Against Injustice & Police Brutality protest in the borough.
The sentiment was shared by both her, a black female, and the other two organizers, Raquel Heckman and Brandon Filiziani, both of Shenandoah.
“I’ve lived here my whole entire life and I still get treated differently,” Peterson added.
“With these protests, everybody keeps saying ‘they’re not going to happen here, they’re not going to happen here,'” Heckman told the Sentinel. “They need to see that there are people that stand with this movement, and we’re not going to be quiet.”
The march formed at Bicentennial Park at Herald Road and Bridge Streets, where about 30 people gathered. Early arrivals grabbed trash bags and picked up scattered litter they found in the parking lot.
Heckman said the protest was intended to be peaceful and unifying, as protesters held signage both in line with the Black Lives Matter movement and Back the Blue, as well as in recognition of Pride Month.
Destiny Nunemacher, Mahanoy City, held a sign reading “Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that,” attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr. Kade Strouse, also of Mahanoy City, held a sign with a raised fist transposed against a rainbow background, the pride flag.
“We just want to be peaceful,” Peterson said, regarding the intentions of the protest.
“We want people to understand that this is our neighborhood, too. We live here too,” said Heckman. “We didn’t get bused in, we’re not Antifa. I was born and raised in Mahanoy City.”
“The thing that we need to do is that we need to know that there needs to be change,” Heckman added. “I think everybody knows that, and we just need to put these differences aside. We’re not here to cause destruction or violence.”
The march stepped off from Bicentennial Park around 2:00pm, marching to the Pennsylvania Anthracite Miners Memorial at Girard Park via Centre, Emerick, and Washington Streets. Along the way, marchers chanted, saying “Black Lives Matter,” and the names of three people of color who were killed, two of whom by police: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Luis Ramirez.
The latter, Ramirez, of Mexican descent, was killed in 2008 in the 500 block of West Lloyd Street, which was subsequently covered up by borough police. Floyd was killed by Minneapolis City Police in Minnesota a few weeks ago, sparking protests and riots across the nation. Breonna Taylor was killed by Louisville, Kentucky Police in a no-knock warrant in March.
When the protest reached the Miners Memorial, the group held a moment of silence in tribute.
From the Miner’s Memorial, the group made their way to Main and Centre Streets, where they spent about an hour and a half protesting, chanting, and sharing stories as cars passed by, honking in support.
Among those to share a story was Pastor Mindy Heppe, Shenandoah, pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church on West Cherry Street. She and son Yang Heppe held signs, Yang’s reading “Black Lives Matter,” and Mindy’s reading “When he called for his mama, he summoned all mothers.”
“My daughter, 10 years old, three months here from Ethiopia, goes to school at Father Ciszek. We’re walking up the street one afternoon on our daily walk, she says, and I quote, ‘Mommy, what’s a… n-word?'” Mindy said. “Nobody’s ready for that. So I did my fallback position, I did a lecture. I did etymological history, I did social history, I did cultural history, and finally, I took a deep breath and said ‘honey, why do you ask?'”
Mindy said the conversation was prompted by her daughter being called the n-word in a school bathroom.
Following her story, she led the group in song.
Lilia Sanchez, a Shenandoah native living in Mahanoy City additionally spoke to the group.
“Take a look around, we’re all different kinds of people, and we’re here united for one thing,” Sanchez said. “Because if there’s no justice, there’s no peace, and black lives matter. I’m Mexican, and I’m here to support Black Lives Matter.”
“Everybody remembers what happened with Luis Ramirez here in Shenandoah. Where’s the justice? It cannot keep continuing again all across America,” Sanchez continued. “We are here in America, we love America.”
The protest lasted over two hours, ending when participants marched back to Bicentennial Park.
The protest was not without counter, however, as a group of four men, three wearing “Make America Great Again” hats followed the protest from Emerick Street, countering chants, including shouting “What about Tony Timpa?” in counter to the group chanting Floyd’s, Taylor’s, and Ramirez’ names. Timpa is a white man who was killed in police custody last year in Dallas, Texas.
The countering group largely stayed distant from the protesters.
Shenandoah Police, assisted by the Schuylkill County Sheriff’s Office kept an eye on the protest from afar, parking a block away on three sides — both sides of Centre and South Main Street.
The protest is the first in northern Schuylkill County in the ongoing wave of protests across the country, the nearest others taking place in Pottsville, Hazleton, and Shamokin.
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