During a day that threatened ― and in places poured — rain, events in support of a movement in support of racial justice continued, although it marked the first time in weeks no large-scale rallies were held.
In Cambridge, a controversy over Whole Foods employees wearing “Black Lives Matter” masks continued to simmer as a dozen workers were sent home, and a small group of supporters stood out in front of the River Street location.
“We’re its paying customers and it makes no sense to us” Vibha Pingle, 53, said about Whole Foods not allowing employees to wear the masks. “We’re not fighting for anything other than basic human rights here — and this is Cambridge,” said Pingle, who lives in the city.
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Pingle and a group of friends have been leading groups of about 50 protesters for at least an hour a day since Friday to show support for employees wearing the masks and put pressure on the store by encouraging would-be customers to shop elsewhere.
Savanah Kinzer, 23, of Boston, has been leading the protest among the store’s employees, who were sent home without pay and could eventually face other discipline as a result of their protest, she said. Kinzer said a dozen employees were sent home Sunday and the company confirmed that.
A spokeswoman for Whole Foods said the company “strongly supports the Black community,” but employees are not allowed to work until they comply with the dress code, which “prohibits clothing with visible slogans, messages, logos or advertising that are not company-related.” She said this policy includes masks. Other masks are offered to employees, she said.
Kinzer said the employees were sent home Sunday after declining to swap out their masks, and she called on other Whole Foods locations to join them in a statewide protest on Tuesday.
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Other events supporting the Black Lives Matter movement were planned during the day and evening in Cambridge, Hyde Park, Newton, Worcester (virtually), Abington, and Hingham, from forums on socialism to voting to old-fashioned sign-holding.
At least two of the events were hosted by first-time organizers.
“Hey if we want change to happen, we can’t wait around for it,” said Crystal Neake, 21, a South Boston resident with the group “Voices of Boston” who helped organize an event in Hyde Park designed to promote voting. Heavy rains eventually forced the event to shut down, she said.
Still, the newly formed group hopes to “be more constructive in the way we’re being activists,” she said in a phone interview, and voting is “. . . another avenue you can use your voice as well.”
Nicole Schick, 32, was also organizing her first event, a rally in Abington, where she lives. The social worker said the event came from the needs of her own household, where she lives with two Black men, including her fiancee.
“We needed that sense of safety and security and support,” she said in a phone interview.
She said she moved into the predominantly white town from Orlando, Fla., and “it wasn’t clear this was a town to support [the movement] or not.”
What started as a plan to hold signs a few weeks ago grew into the expectation of a rally Sunday evening, said Schick, who is white. “This is what we needed in our home, but there are a lot of people that need this in their homes.”
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For Jennifer Ofayande, 18, a Boston resident who was among the Whole Foods employees who were sent home Sunday, she is going to keep on protesting. Her next scheduled shift is Monday and she said she will wear the “Black Lives Matter” mask again.
“It’s honestly going to be the same thing. We’re going to keep putting on the masks. We’re going to keep doing it and see what they say,” she said.
“I just feel like as a Black person it’s my right to do this because it’s showing that I’m here having a voice and that I should be heard,” Ofayande said. “I am also showing that hey, my life matters. It’s not politics: We all have to start leading for a change.”
Lucas Phillips can be reached at lucas.phillips@globe.com.
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June 29, 2020 at 06:06AM
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Local protests continue in support of Black Lives Matter movement - The Boston Globe
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