By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
Many of the activists leading the charge in the Black Lives Matter movement are young people like 16-year-old Jadyn Godin of Baldwinsville, who organized a BLM protest in June in the wake of the police-involved killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and Tony McDade in Tallahassee.
One of the attendees of Godin’s rally was Baldwinsville resident Maggie Solomon, 15. She also attended a protest led by Cuse Youth BLM in June.
Maggie’s activism has extended past her involvement in protests. She approached her mother, Tina Solomon, about putting a Black Lives Matter sign on the fence outside their home in Baldwinsville.
“I was pretty upset with what was happening and I felt quite helpless and I wanted to do something,” said Maggie. “I talked to my mom about it and she thought it was a good idea.”
Tina gathered some paint and plywood for her daughter, and Maggie got to work.
Unfortunately, Maggie’s sign has been vandalized twice, most recently the night of July 26 or in the early morning hours of July 27. Someone sprayed the word “ALL” in white paint over the word “BLACK.”
“I was pretty angry. I was wondering who would come onto my property and take the time to spray paint over it,” Maggie said. “I had to sand the paint off and touch up the black paint up.”
Timothy Solomon, Maggie’s father, said it’s one thing to react to someone’s opinion in a public forum like social media, but defacing someone’s private property crosses a line.
“You feel violated to some degree because it’s on our own property,” said Timothy. “You feel like you lose a little peace.”
“We had our car broken into a couple years ago and it makes you feel insecure that someone feels they can come on your property and do something like that,” Tina said. “It makes me sad that our world … is moving into this ‘what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine too.’”
Tina said she is frustrated for her daughter and considers the vandalism disrespectful.
“I was irritated because I am a strong believer that we can agree to disagree. We live in a free country,” she said.
Even within the Solomon family, they don’t agree on everything when it comes to political and social issues. The key, Tina said, is to back up your arguments with facts and be respectful of others’ opinions.
“I am proud of my kids for sticking up for what they believe in,” she said. “It is a challenge as a parent to make sure my kids are fact-checking. They are bombarded by social media with way more information than I ever had to deal with as a kid. We want them to have their opinions, but their opinions have to be based on the correct information.”
Timothy Solomon said he is Mohawk and his father was raised on a reservation, so while he does not necessarily agree with all aspects of the BLM movement, he understands “there’s lots of races that are suffering similar [problems].”
Maggie Solomon is close with her cousin, Autumn Burgin, of Moravia. Autumn, a Le Moyne College graduate who is headed to Syracuse University for law school, is biracial. She has had conversations with her white family members about what life is like for a person of color.
“There’s never been a Band-Aid that’s the color of my skin. When I took dance class there were never leotards that were the color of my skin,” Tina recalled Autumn telling her.
Autumn said she was one of only three Black people in her high school graduating class of 75 students.
“Even the smallest statements can affect a person of color, like ‘You’re pretty for a Black girl’ or ‘If you had lighter eyes you’d look more exotic,’” Autumn told the Messenger. “Whether you think racial oppression is over or we have equal rights doesn’t mean we don’t face microaggressions every day. … I have been bullied and I have been stereotyped and I have been called the n-word.”
Autumn said she was upset when she learned her cousin’s BLM sign had been vandalized. She said Maggie is “the sweetest person ever.”
“It’s super upsetting to me because it’s not the first sign I’ve seen to be vandalized,” Autumn said.
Autumn said if she could talk to the person who painted over Maggie’s sign, she would ask why they would do such a thing.
“What was going through your mind when you decided to vandalize this sign? Do you know the girl you did this to?. I would want to try to have a conversation with them and try to educate them,” she said. “I would point out that they have hurt the feelings of a girl who is just trying to defend her cousin and who has no ill intentions.”
Maggie’s message for the vandal is simple.
“I would probably say that Black Lives Matter does not mean ‘all lives don’t matter.’ It just means that right now Black lives are in danger and they face prejudice every day,” she said.
Tina echoed her daughter’s sentiments.
“Of course we believe that all lives matter but right now in our society Black Lives Matter trumps that. There are definitely injustices,” Tina said. “I’ve always told my kids you treat everybody with respect and kindness.”
Tina Solomon said the family is considering security cameras for their yard, but they have not reported the vandalism to law enforcement.
“I don’t think there would be anything they could do,” Maggie said.
While it may be difficult to identify the person who defaced the sign, the family has some suggestions for what people can do to further the cause of racial justice.
“Sign petitions to arrest the killers of Breonna Taylor and all the other young people who have lost their lives to police brutality,” Maggie said.
Autumn Burgin recommended reading work by Black scholars about race, privilege and inequality.
“You’ll find that nobody’s trying to attack you, they’re simply trying to inform you,” she said.
She also recommended the book and documentary “White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son” by anti-racist activist Tim Wise, who is white.
“He points out how we can all benefit from understanding racial inequality no matter our skin color because whether we agree or not that racial inequality has not been solved, it’s super informative,” she said.
