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Over 100 people attend Black Lives Matter event in Rossland

Similar events have also taken place in Nelson and Kelowna
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The event took place next to Ferraro Foods in Rossland. (Samantha Marina Facebook photo)

More than 100 people attended a Black Lives Matter solidarity event in Rossland on Friday, June 5.

The event started at around 3 p.m. and took place next to Ferraro Foods in the city.

The event is one of many that have taken place across Canada and the United States to pay respect to George Floyd, a black man that died recently while in Minneapolis police custody.

During the event, former green party candidate Tara Howse asked attendees to go kneel down on one knee to honour and remember Floyd’s life.

Rossland Mayor Kathy Moore said the event was empowering.

“I was just really happy to see such a large turnout and to see that so many people in Rossland were concerned about this issue,” said Moore.

“People had said to me ‘well, this isn’t a big issue in Rossland, why are we demonstrating?’. However, in fact it’s a worldwide issue that includes Canada and the United States. It’s going to take people like us who aren’t necessarily impacted to stand up and demand change.”

According to a social media post, event organizer Greg Harrison said attendees also raised $285 for the Black in B.C. Community Support Fund for COVID- 19 and $405 for the Unist’ot’en 2020 Legal Fund.

Similar events have also recently been held in Nelson and Kelowna.

READ MORE: PHOTOS: Anti-racism protesters gather in communities across B.C.


@connortrembley
connor.trembley@castlegarnews.com

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