By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
On June 4, a large group of peaceful demonstrators marched through the Village of Cazenovia in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“The goal is to engage Cazenovia, as a predominately white community, in broader issues of police brutality and systemic racism,” said Lucy Langan, a rising Colgate University sophomore who participated in, but did not organize, the event. “It pervades every community, even those as small as Cazenovia. We need to support surrounding communities like Syracuse and work to see what we need to [improve locally].”
After learning about the march from her friend — and fellow Cazenovia High School graduate — Siobhan Kiernan on Instagram, Langan volunteered to help collect donations to The Liberty Fund, New York City’s first citywide charitable bail fund.
Sunday Kulang, a rising junior at SUNY Oswego, addressed the crowd at the start and finish of the march.
“Living in an area [without a lot of] diversity, I felt like it was my duty to shed light on the racial injustice that is very prominent in society,” Kulang said on June 5. “This is about more than George Floyd. It’s about the systemic and institutionalized racism engrained in our country.”
Cazenovia Police Chief Michael Hayes also addressed the marchers at Lakeland Park regarding the importance of the permit process.
“We found out about this through Facebook,” said Hayes after the march. “Once we learned of it, the mayor and I discussed the fact that they had no permit. The permit is for lawful assembly. They were made aware of it. Doing an unlawful assembly or an assembly like this without the knowledge of the village police department is really not smart. There could be people who are diabetic, there could be heat exhaustion; there could be tons of things going on. If we aren’t prepared for it, someone could be injured or die. That’s the reason for the permit . . . We had a village board meeting Monday, so had they filed the permit we could have expedited it. Usually it takes longer to get DOT’s permission, but we may have been able to shut Albany Street down for them. They could have had an even bigger event here. Our goal is to ensure that people’s civil rights and liberties are protected and that they are safe and their property is protected . . . We don’t even know who the organizers are, and that is concerning. There are a lot of moving parts that people just don’t think about.”
According to Delaney Yorks, a rising junior at Keuka College, the police presence was appreciated.
“I thought the march was successful and very well organized,” said Yorks. “The police did a great job working with us and there was a great turnout. I am proud of all those who came to support the movement and I hope that people continue to support and educate themselves about [it].”
