By ARIADNE WILL
Sentinel Staff Writer
In response to nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, some Sitkans have taken to the roundabout at the center of town to support the movement.
The protests have taken place every day since June 3, when Jack Petersen stood and knelt at the roundabout with a sign reading “hands up, don’t shoot.”
Earlier that day a man had stood at the roundabout carrying an assault-type weapon and a sign reading “blue lives matter.”
The man had also attended the June 1 Totem Square vigil held in memory of George Floyd, who was killed by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 25. The man had a gun at that event as well.
“While it is within his right to (protest),” Petersen said, “I think there is something deeply unsettling about what kind of message you bring when people are ... trying to vocalize a message of peace and justice and your opposition brings a gun.”
Petersen said he wanted to stand at the roundabout to create space and show support for people who may be feeling unsafe and unheard.
Several protesters hold signs at the roundabout June 7. A dozen or so dedicated young Sitkans spent hours over the past two weeks from afternoon till evening holding up cardboard signs with messages related to the Black Lives Matter movement. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
The protests have continued since June 3, drawing a small crowd each evening.
Susan Dralu, who attended the protest Wednesday evening, spoke to the Sentinel about her experience as a black person living in Sitka.
“The reason why I came out here is because our neighbors ... were making fun of (George Floyd) saying, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,’” Dralu said.
“The (neighbor) was like, ‘I can’t believe all those white (protesters) are just standing there ... like it’s their problem,” she said.
She said she felt it was important to add her voice at the roundabout, where protesters have been predominantly white.
“It’s better for someone of color to come stand here and show how they actually care about (the movement),” Dralu said.
For Dralu, standing at the roundabout takes some courage.
“I’m scared,” she said.
She said she’s experienced aggression, both active and passive, by others since she has been in Sitka.
She said a few days before she joined the roundabout demonstration, she was at a laundromat when a woman who was already there left and returned with a friend.
Dralu said that she felt as though the woman had wanted a “protector” because of Dralu’s presence.
Mia Nevarez, who has helped organize the protests and attended the roundabout demonstrations since June 3, said she also has experienced racism in the community
“I know this town is educated, but there are small things ... that people say, that I’ve had to think, ‘Hold on, what do you mean by that?’”
Nevarez, who grew up in Sitka, said she hopes Sitka is beginning to have more conversations about racism and about the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I haven’t seen these discussions happen before, or even people talking as openly about (BLM) until now,” she said.
She said she hopes that Sitka‘s young also are aware of what is happening in Sitka, and at the national level.
“My favorite (thing) is when cars drive by and they have a small child in the passenger seat and (the child) raises up their fist,” Nevarez said. “Even though the representation of the black community is not very big in Sitka, (kids) can still be exposed to it and can still know what’s going on.”
Nevarez and Petersen -- both in their twenties -- are members of a core group working to make the movement more visible in the community.
“I’m going to be focusing on donations and correctly allocating them,” Nevarez said.
She said she would also like to see a class offered for people who want an in-depth perspective of the history of race and racism in the U.S.
“This hasn’t started with George Floyd,” she said.
