Why we wrote this article:
This issue isn’t unique to Akron. In the wake of Trump’s reelection, protests against his policies have taken place across the country. And with them came discussions — on Reddit, Medium and national news sites — about the lack of Black demonstrators at said protests. But what does this have to do with arts and culture? The key is in that second word: culture. It’s one of those hard-to-define know-it-when-you-hear-it concepts. Artists, creators and performers are all part of Akron’s culture. But so too are people’s beliefs, values and traditions — concepts that are at the root of the recent protests.
When Noelle Bowman held the first meeting for what would become Indivisible Akron, she noticed something about the 19 people who showed up. All of them were middle-aged white women.
Since then, the group — a local chapter of Indivisible, a progressive national organization founded in response to the reelection of President Donald Trump — has hosted three more meetings. Indivisible Akron, along with Akron Democracy Defenders, also organized “Hands Off!,” an April rally at Hardesty Park. It was part of a larger nationwide day of anti-Trump protests, and Bowman said around 2,000 people attended.
For all of these events, the demographics of the attendees remained largely the same, she said.
“When we have our monthly meetings and I’m standing on the stage and I’m looking out, I see people who look just like me,” said Bowman, a New Franklin resident.
When asked why she thinks this is, Bowman hesitated.
“So a lot of the things that we do are happening through word of mouth,” she said. “So that tells me that those of us who are in the group aren’t sharing this information with our Black friends.”
This issue isn’t unique to Akron. In the wake of Trump’s reelection, protests against his policies have taken place across the country. And with them came discussions — on Reddit, Medium and national news sites — about the lack of Black demonstrators at said protests.
Akron NAACP President Judi Hill was out of town for the first anti-Trump protest in Akron this year, but she heard about it, and its lack of diversity.
“We all saw the same thing,” she said.
She continued, “The organizers are predominantly white, and so you typically go to people you know,” Hill said. “And if your circle does not include a diverse group of individuals, you’re not going to find [a diverse group of individuals].”
Black leaders cite lack of outreach, safety concerns
Signal Akron spoke to Hill the day before a May Day protest in Akron at Cascade Plaza.
“Haven’t heard a thing about it,” Hill said, when asked about the protest.
Ray Greene, founder and executive director of The Freedom Bloc also brought up the lack of communication.
“Black people haven’t been invited. Black organizations haven’t been invited. I’ll find out about them, normally a week before or a day before. Nobody has called us and asked us to participate,” he said.
The Freedom Bloc isn’t “necessarily a protest organization,” Greene said, but the group participates in some protests and teaches people how to protest safely.
“For Freedom Bloc and particularly for our base, [we] have been trained not to go to protests [where] we don’t know who’s in charge,” he said.
In the summer of 2020, millions of Americans took to the streets to protest racial injustice. The groundswell was in large part due to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two Black people who were killed by police.
Police brutality against Black people was a focal point of the protests. Yet in many cities, the police were a constant presence at protests. Incidents of police using force against protesters were well documented.
It was a much different scene at Indivisible Akron’s April rally.
“That first protest in Akron on Market Street — and I saw pictures, and people kept sending me reels — how many barriers did you see up?” Hill said. “I can tell you right now, I spoke to one of the organizers, and they said they had to call the police.”
In a follow-up email, Bowman said Indivisible Akron “followed the proper channels” and notified the City of Akron about its rally on April 5.
“We had between 2,000 and 2,500 people,” she said. “They sent one patrol car. That’s it.”
It was a stark comparison to Hill’s experience protesting in Akron.
“Before we set foot on the road, there were barricades. There was police presence. There was almost as many police officers as there were protesters at times.”
Jesse Cupp, a state organizer with the Ohio chapter of 50501, said in some cities such as Columbus, an over involvement of police caused concerns for Black protesters. Cupp, who is based in Cincinnati, said many of the people in 50501 are new to protesting and did not think anything of the police being present at the protests.
“We’ve realized that for some privileged people, lots of police might make them feel more safe, but obviously, for a large chunk of the population, more police will make you feel less safe,” he said.
‘We need everybody’ at protests
On Saturday, people will once again take to the streets in cities across the U.S. for a “No Kings” protest. In Akron, protesters will gather downtown at the John F. Seiberling Federal Building and United States Courthouse. Bowman and Cupp said their groups are working on outreach to local Black communities.
Currently, there are no Black people on Indivisible Akron’s leadership team. Bowman said she is working to change that through outreach to some in the community. She acknowledged that “there’s a trust that needs to be built.”
“They don’t know who we are. We’re new. So who the hell are we to say, ‘Come protest with us’?” she said. “And I recognize that it’s something that is going to take a while to establish those relationships, but we’re working on it.”
Recently, Bowman attended a national conference in Washington, D.C., with representatives from Indivisible. While there, she met several Black women who are leaders within the organization. Speaking with them helped shed light on the lack of diversity at recent protests.
“When Black people go to a protest, it’s a different experience than when white people go,” she said. “There’s a fear of being targeted by police, which I don’t relate to, because of my white privilege.”
Cupp and 50501 organizers are making an effort to build coalitions with other local groups, including the MLK Coalition in Cincinnati and local activists heavily involved in Black Lives Matter.
“We need everybody. We can’t rely on just white people to save the day. That has never worked out great,” Cupp said.
Collaboration between people at the local level is a view Greene shares too.
“I’m hopeful for better days, but we’re not going to have better days until we start caring about ordinary people, everyday people,” he said. “And the only way to show that you care about everyday ordinary people is to listen to ordinary everyday people. And the easiest way to listen to ordinary everyday people is working with grassroots organizations that’s on the ground.”