Black Lives Matter-June 7

I am filled with gratitude and hope tonight. This march was fully student lead and they are breathtaking in their purpose and dedication. There was a moment when these young people, many of whom didn’t get any of the rituals that help them say goodbye to high school, walked through the crowd of their community as if it were a makeshift graduation. It was such a powerful metaphore sprung to life as they lead the way on to the street. Halfway through they asked the march to stop and lay down or kneel. We chanted “I can’t breathe” for 9 minutes. 9 minutes is a very long time. The meditation outside, on the street with so much of our town collectively reflecting on this moment was truly beautiful. I also appreciated how this was a truly Mukilteo version. It was peaceful, a little subdued at times, there were snack and water stations under white tents, everyone was careful to follow directions. It was our suburban way of making it clear that Black Lives Matter here!