Almost 100 people joined a loud and spirited march through
Waikiki (Honolulu’s main tourist district) in response to the outrageous decision in Ferguson on Tuesday evening.
As protesters arrived, a university professor
who arrived early remarked: “I thought
there might only be 5 of us, but I was ready to march anyway because I just had
to.”
As protesters gathered there was an emotional speak-out. A 76 year-old woman who had been the first
Black girl to integrate an all-white Baltimore high school in 1954 choked as
she said she didn’t expect that 50 years later she’d still be fighting for those rights. A Vietnam Vet condemned the
murdering police: “This is not what we
fought for! No one should fight for
this country!” A Black youth denounced
the racism he’s experienced in Hawai`i, where he’s been "called nigger more
often than anywhere else” but then said how heartened he was to see such a
diverse group standing up against the outrageous Ferguson decision.
When the march left the park chanting “No
Justice! No Peace!” a Black man across
the street tried to join up but was restrained by police. The march crossed over and he joined. As the march approached the police substation
the shout went up: “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot! and protesters made chalk
outlines of unarmed victims at the door of the station.
All along the march tourists lifted their cameras, go-pros
and cellphones to snap pictures. A
protester remarked: “I never come to
Waikiki – but this is really the place to
demonstrate! Pictures
are going to spread around the world!" Others
talked together about the gut-level anger they felt over the decision and the
need they felt to be out on the streets to stand with people across the U.S.
who are protesting the decision. A woman said she was so sickened by the Ferguson decision that she couldn't sleep, but then was heartened when she received an e-mail at 2am announcing a protest.
Many people along the route clapped or chanted along with
the protesters and some joined the march.
Others appeared not to understand what it was all about and stood with
mouths open. A few yelled “fuck off”, made racist remarks, or
fearfully shielded their children, but no one could miss that people in Hawai`i
– of all races, ages and ethnicities, are outraged over the racist Ferguson
decision.
As the protest ended there was a sense of pride and comradery
as people shared experiences and e-mails and talked about the need for strong movement
of resistance against the epidemic of police brutality and murder.
Following are photos from the protest:
