Silent protesters march in Pullman

Attendees of the walk last Friday stand waiting on the steps of Beasley Coliseum.

Gazette intern reporter

An estimated 200 people came together in Pullman Friday, July 15, and gathered on the steps of Beasley Coliseum before silently and peacefully marching to remember Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, as well as other victims of recent police shootings.

“It opens the eyes of the people who don't think these issues exist,” said Brianna Smathers, 18, who organized the event along with Sabine Pendry, 19.

The peace walk aimed to protest police violence and raise awareness in Pullman and across the Palouse, where a majority Caucasian population has not seen the same effects of racism as other areas in the nation, Pendry said.

“Injustice is far too common in these cases. We will gather and walk for those who no longer can. We will walk for the black men and women whose lives were lost due to a society built on racial hierarchy and systemic racism,” stated Pendry and Smathers on the Facebook event page.

Those who attended the event were encouraged to wear black to demonstrate support and mourn the deaths. Once protestors gathered at Beasley, Smathers along with Khalil Pettway, president of the Black Student Union of WSU, introduced the cause with brief speeches that addressed racism and encouraged those attending to educate rather than allow racism to continue.

“By holding this peaceful demonstration, we hoped to advocate justice for the families of those who were killed. We support peace and advocate equality of justice, and we hope to facilitate peaceful discussion of the issues by raising awareness,” stated Pendry and Smathers. “We hope that you will help our voices be heard and our movement be seen.”

While they did not know how the community would react, the event was met without harsh comments, though some disagreed with the message.

“Overall it was absolutely amazing,” said Smathers. “Most people and cars we came across supported us which was extremely lucky on our part, seeing as a girl from Lewiston organizing a similar protest received death threats.”

Pullman Police Department and the WSU Police Department joined in the demonstration to ensure all participants were safe and that no one who disagreed with the event stepped in to hijack it.

“Unfortunately, the voices of white men and women are heard louder than those of people of color so making sure to have David Lenard, a professor at Washington State speak about white privilege really helped get my point across,” said Smathers.

The Walk of Justice ended at Thomas Hammer coffeehouse in downtown Pullman, where protestors gathered hand-in-hand and held a moment of silence for victims while listening to attendees speak in support of peace toward people of color and against the system of police violence.

“It was actually better than I imagined it,” said Smathers. “My closest friends and family were a part of it and brought the community closer with the Pullman Police Department, which is something I didn't expect to happen which was amazing. The speeches were extremely moving and heartfelt which really helped people understand entirely what's going on in the world especially coming from people of all genders, races and socioeconomic backgrounds.”